Court frees soldier over alleged vehicle theft

FRANCIS IWUCHUKWU

A Lagos High Court in Igbosere, presided over by Justice Olabisi Akinlade has discharged a soldier, Yakubu Pius Jatto, accused of receiving a stolen vehicle.

The court in its ruling on the no-case submission instituted by the freed soldier, declared that the case of the prosecution was too weak to warrant calling on the defendant to open his defence.

According to the judge, "The prosecution, led by Mrs. Abiola Adeyinka, an Assistant Director in the Lagos State Directorate of Public Prosecutions, haven failed to establish a prima facie case against the defendant, no serious court would return a guilty verdict at the end of the trial. The court had no option than to set Jato free."

The Lagos State government had on February 30, 2012 arraigned the soldier on an amended two-count charge of conspiracy to commit felony and receiving stolen property. According to the charge, the offence offends the provision of Sections 427 and 516 of the Criminal Code, Laws of Lagos State, 2003.

Prior to the decision of Justice Akinlade, the prosecution had brought
one Sergeant Akinlade Philips, the investigating police officer (IPO), who told the court that he could not complete the investigation as the case was taken over by the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), Ikeja.

The IPO also claimed that two other suspects in the alleged stealing of the vehicle at gun point led to a chain of arrests that eventually ended with the defendant. Philips then admitted under cross-examination by the defence counsel that he was seeing Jatto (the defendant) for the first time in court.

About 11 months into Philips' testimony, the prosecution failed to call its next witness and its case was closed for the defence to open.

However, the defence said it was opting for a no-case-to-answer submission. Moving his no-case submission, the soldier through his lawyer informed the trial court that the prosecution failed to adduce enough evidence to warrant calling on the defendant to enter his defence.

According to the freed soldier, "Before a person standing trial for an alleged offence could be called upon to open his defence, the prosecution must first place prima facie evidence before the court to establish the allegation.

"In the instant case, the defendant was charged with the offence of receiving a stolen property and in the evidence of PW1 (first prosecution witness), we humbly submit that there was nowhere the basic elements of the offence have been proved."

But the prosecution urged the court to dismiss the defence counsel's submissions. According to the Lagos State government, "It is our submission that what the court must consider at this stage is whether the evidence adduced by the prosecution is such that discloses a prima facie case against the defendant and not whether the evidence can sustain a conviction."