A Chief Magistrates’ Court in Zonkwa, Kaduna State, has ordered the remand of a 33-year-old farmer, Hosea Julius, in a correctional centre for alleged culpable homicide.
Julius was charged by the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) with abduction and culpable homicide, contrary to sections 246 and 189 of the Kaduna State Penal Code Law. The NSCDC Prosecutor, Marcus Audu, told the court that the complainant, Peter Patrick, reported the matter at the corps office in Kafanchan on March 13.
Audu said the complainant told the NSCDC that the suspect visited his house in Kagoro in his absence and left with his 21-year-old daughter. The complainant looked for his daughter but could not find her.
After 18 days, the suspect called the complainant and told him that his daughter had been admitted at the Kafanchan General Hospital. The complainant rushed to the hospital and found his daughter in a coma; two days later, the lady died.
Meanwhile, the presiding judge, Michael Bawa, could not take the suspect’s plea for lack of jurisdiction. Bawa directed the prosecutor to forward the case file to the State Director of Public Prosecution for legal advice. He adjourned the matter until April 29 for further mention.