Ummita: Chinese counsel accuses Kano govt of tendering fake verbal autopsy
By Muhammad Salim
The Defense counsel in the ongoing trial of Ummukulsum Sani Buhari (Ummita) who was allegedly murdered by her Chinese lover, Frank Geng Quarong has accused the state counsel of tendering fake verbal autopsy about the deceased before the court.
At the resumed hearing before a Kano High Court on Wednesday, the Defence counsel, Barrister Muhammad Dan-Azumi said, the evidence tendered as verbal autopsy certifying the death of the victim by Murtala Muhammad Specialist Hospital in Kano which the court admits as exhibit D stands to be questionable in its entirety.
He argued that the document is not original copy of the report obtained and tendered in black and white and on the letter headed paper from the hospital.
He said, the report is coming 90 days after the said incident happened which he tried to obtain earlier but there was no response from the hospital till date.
Earlier, the court began proceeding with the hearing of the last prosecution witness, Police Constable, Aminu Halilu attached to Dorayi Babba police division.
Read Also: Aminu Kano Centre for Democratic Studies, Mambayya House, gets new Director
He narrated how the incident happened, the police involvement in the case to hospital certification and subsequently, release of the corpse of the victim to relatives for burial.
Halilu, further explained that after handing over the corpse for burial, he came back to the suspect who was at the station and took note of his own side of the story.
“I came back to the police station where i met Mr Frank. I asked him to invite his relatives but he said they are in China but he will call a friend who worked at BBY Textile company and he (the defendant) called him through the phone but he did not come up for a few hours.
“Later on, he permitted me to take his statement in the presence of his relatives. He started narrating what happened between them from the day they met in 2019 up to 16th September, 2022.
“After, I read to him and he understood and signed. After he signed, I took him to my superior, Saifullahi Bello where he read the statement to him and he accepted what he read to him that what was recorded is true.”
Read Also: EFCC tenders $25,000 alleged bribe, 2 cell phones in evidence against Shehu Sani
He added that, he thereafter took the statement of the two witnesses, one Fatima Zubairu and Mustapha and then proceeded to visit the scene of the crime at Janbulo quarters of Kano metropolis and later the next day, he compiled the case diary and the exhibit given to him (a sharp knife) and transferred the case to the state Criminal Investigation Department (CID) for further investigation.
The prosecution counsel led by the state Director, Public Prosecution, Aisha Muhammad had earlier tendered an evidence, statement of the suspect and the court admitted it as exhibit C which the police constable recognised but the defendant denied and objected to the statement.
He said, he was forced to make the statement, threatened and pushed into a cell handcuffed.
Therefore, the defense counsel called for trial within trial but the judge argued that it was abolished in the ACJL relying on section 38 (7) of the ACJL thereby admitting the statement as exhibit C.
The Judge, Justice Sunusi Ado Ma’aji, then closed hearing of the prosecution counsel and adjourned the case to December 23, 2023.
Comments are closed.