Court acquits wife charged with murder of husband

An FCT High Court, Maitama on Friday discharged and acquitted a housewife, Amina Dauda, accused of killing her husband, Mohammed Matazu, a former reporter with the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN), in Kaduna State.

Dauda, 28, was arraigned before Justice Hussein Baba-Yusuf, on May 22, 2013, on a one count of culpable homicide which violated Section 221 punishable with death.

NAN reports that the prosecutor alleged that Dauda, sprayed Matazu with petrol in their residence at Gwarinpa, Abuja,and set him ablaze.

Delivering Judgment, Justice Hussein Baba-Yusuf, held that the police did not carry out their investigations very well.

” They did not show true professionalism in the conduct of their investigation, all they did was take the defendant’s statement and visit to the scene and did not gather any other evidence.

” Though, there is evidence of death before the court but all the five witnesses called by the police are not eye witnesses to the incident .

Baba-Yusuf held that in a case of culpable homicide, the prosecution must prove that there was a death of human; that it was caused by a human being with the intention of killing.

He held that there was no doubt that there was the death of a human being in the instance case.

He, however, held that of all the five witnesses called by the police, none of them was an eye witness who witnessed the incident leading to the death of the deceased.

The judge noted that the burden of proof was on the prosecution to discharged, adding that the defendant had no burden to prove until when the prosecution discharged its burden that she could be called upon to give explanation.

He stated that going by the three extra-judicial statements made by the defendant, tendered and admitted as exhibits by the court, Dauda did not admit the offence she was charged with.

The judge held that the police investigating officer charged with the responsibility of investigating the case did a mockery of investigation as he failed to verify the story told by the defendant in her extra-judicial statements.

”The attitude of the investigating police officer shows a crass ignorance of his duty.”

”The police did not make genuine efforts to gather evidence with which to convict the defendant.

”The defendant is hereby discharged and acquitted, he held.”