An Abuja High Court on Tuesday acquitted a 29-year-old man, Simanyi Lawal, of stabbing his casual friend, Farouk Hamza, to death.
Delivering judgment, Justice Cyprian Agashieze held that the prosecution did not present eyewitnesses before the court to prove that the stabbing occurred.
“The prosecution counsel, Oluwaseun Alabi, must prove that the victim died as a result of the defendant’s actions.
“The prosecution must also prove that the defendant committed the act with the intention of causing death to secure a conviction of culpable homicide punishable with death.
“A jack knife and a kitchen knife were produced as evidence but the name of the doctor who declared the victim dead was not produced. There was no autopsy and an expert would have shown where the knife entered the body of the victim to cause his death,” Agashieze said.
He added that no death certificate was tendered as evidence, and the prosecution failed to investigate the four persons who were in the same room on the day of the incident.
“There was no video recording of the defendant making his statements to the police and no test result to prove that the drug “ice” was found in the defendant’s system.
“The prosecution is left with circumstantial evidence. The prosecution has failed to prove its case against the defendant,” he said.
Earlier, the prosecution alleged that the defendant stabbed Hamza with a jack knife, which led to his death on Sept.16, 2022.
The prosecution witness, Sgt. Terseer testified that investigations revealed that the defendant and the deceased met for the first time and spent the night at a friend’s place in Ushafa, Abuja.
The witness alleged that the defendant stabbed the deceased during an argument and he was taken to the Bwari General Hospital, where he died.
The witness also alleged that the defendant confessed that he was under the influence of a drug called “Ice”.
In his defence, the defendant denied stabbing Hamza.
