A baffling scenario played out on Friday after a court judge in Abuja set free a man accused of murder.
Gravel
An FCT High Court, Kubwa, on Friday discharged one Isah Abdulkadir, standing trial for alleged criminal conspiracy and culpable homicide, for lack of diligent prosecution.
The Judge, Justice Bello Kawu, who struck out the case, ruled that the prosecution had consistently failed to bring the suspect to court since his first arraignment in April 2016.
He noted that the prosecution had also not appeared in court in respect of the matter, leading to four adjournments without notice to both the court and the defence counsel.
The judge said that he was left with no option than to strike out the case in accordance with the relevant provisions of the law.
Earlier, the defence counsel, Mr O.C. Ibe, had urged the court to strike out the matter, since it appeared that the prosecuting counsel, Mr Dabo Yakuba, had abandoned the case.
According to Ibe, allowing the suspect to remain in detention without bail since his arrest in 2016, while the prosecuting counsel has consistently absented himself from court, is travesty of justice.
-NAN