The Police on Wednesday testified in an FCT High Court, Kubwa, that an officer took pictures of Chidinma Nwangwu, a robbery victim, with deep cuts and a bleeding nose in the mortuary.
Investigating Police Officer, Insp. Deborah Barnabas, attached to Wuye Division of the Nigerian Police Force, said this at the resumed trial of Nasiru Jibrin, Lawal Hamza and Kamalu Yusuf, standing trial over the death of Nwangwu.
The police charged Jibrin, Hamza and Yusuf, with three-count charges bordering on culpable homicide and armed robbery.
Barnabas, led in evidence by the Prosecution Counsel, Donaldtus Abah, said the deceased’s elder brother, Sunday Nwangwu, filed a report at Wuye Police Station on Oct. 7, 2019, that his sister had been attacked.
“My boss directed me to follow the complainant to the scene, and from there we proceeded to the Federal Medical Centre Jabi, where I took pictures of the deceased in the mortuary and returned to the office.
“At the time, the defendants were unknown persons until February 2020, when they were arrested through intelligence report,” she said.The witness added that the deceased’s younger brother, Chukwuemeka Nwangwu, had recognised one of the defendants, Jibrin, as one of the people that attacked his sister.“We collected the defendants statements and transferred the case to the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID),” Barnabas said.
The prosecution counsel then asked the witness to confirm the pictures she took at the mortuary.In response, she said the photograph showed the deceased bleeding through the nose and the area she was stabbed.The picture was tendered and admitted as exhibit.
Justice Keziah Ogbonnaya, however, adjourned the matter until March 8, for continuation of hearing.The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), reports that the defendants had allegedly attacked and robbed Nwangwu of her handbag, containing two cellphones and an ATM card at Kuchigoro, Airport Road, Abuja.
They were also alleged to have given Nwangwu a deep cut with a machete, which caused her death on the same day. (NAN)
