Four suspects in the murder of one Sunday Joshua, a security guard at the New Trafford Hotel and Suites, were arraigned at the Chief Magistrate Court 7 Bauchi, but the trial could not commence because they all tested positive to COVID-19.
The hearing for the case was stalled following a letter written to the court by the four accused persons, Abdul-Rasheed Shuaibu, Jacob Joshua, Joshua Ibrahim and Timothy Yunusa, who tested positive to the virus.
According to a letter dated June 11th 2020 from the Bauchi Correctional Center which was read by the Chief Magistrate, Safiya Salihi, the four accused were confirmed positive for coronavirus by the National Center for Disease Control in Bauchi State.
The case, according to the First Information Report (FIR) is between the Commissioner of Police versus Innocent Ejeh along with four others who are standing trial for criminal conspiracy and culpable homicide in accordance with Sections 96 and 221 of the Penal Code.
When the case was mentioned, the Prosecuting Police Officer, Sergeant Ayuba, told the court that the accused persons could not be in court due to the reasons stated in the letter from the Correctional Center in Bauchi and pleaded for an adjustment.
He told the court that during the sitting of the court on 5th and 8th of June, the accused persons were ordered to be remanded in the custody of the Correctional.
The trial Chief Judge who read the letter from the Bauchi Correctional Center, adjourned the case to 14th of July, 2020, for further mentioning and arraignment.
In another development, there was a mild drama in the court when the presiding Chief Magistrate refused to recognize the appearance of a Counsel from the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) for improper dressing chiding him for not setting an example as a learned person.
Though he apologized for not properly dressed before the court due to what he described as misinformation about the case, Chief Magistrate gave him the option to either enter his appearance with a comment or not recognize his presence. He chose the latter with apologies but the court did not record his appearance.
It will be recalled that on May 25th, 2020, late Sunday Joshua, a security guard at the New Trafford Hotel and Suites, Gwallameji, Bauchi, was accused of stealing a mobile phone, an allegation he denied but in the process of trying to extract a confession from him, he was allegedly tortured by some of his colleagues which led to his death.
