By Ameh Ejekwonyilo
Abuja
The Director of Public Prosecution, Mr. M. S. Diri of the Federal Ministry of Justice, yesterday told Justice Ahmed Mohammed of the Federal High Court sitting in Abuja that the federal government had lined up five witnesses who would be testifying against Aminu Sadiq Ogwuche and 5 others, currently standing trial over their alleged role in the April 14, 2014 bomb explosion that killed over 75 persons at a crowded bus terminus in Nyanya, Abuja.
who is prosecuting the accused persons on behalf of the Attorney General of the Federation stated this when he opened his case.
The prosecutor told the court that an 8-count charge has been framed against the suspects contrary to Sections 1(2a), 5, 8, 16, and 17 of the Terrorism Prevention (amendment) Act, 2013.
The first witness, tagged PW1, an investigator with the DSS told Justice Ahmed Mohammed that he knew the accused persons upon investigation to unravel the perpetrators of the dastardly act.
“I came to know the accused persons during the cause of my investigation having been arrested. Ahmad Abubakar was first to be arrested on April 22, 2014 in Sanga,
Kaduna state; Mohammed Sani Ishaq was arrested in Jabi, FCT on April 24, 2014; Yau was arrested on April 29 in Kano state. Mohammed Annas was arrested in Katsina state on May 3rd, 2014. The next to be arrested was Adamu Haruna Yusuf, on May 5 in Bauchi state while Aminu Ogwuche was arrested in Sudan and extradited to Nigeria on July 15, 2014” DSS witness told the court.
He said he knew Ogwuche way back in 2011 when he was deported to Nigeria from the United Kingdom for belonging to a banned terrorist organization.
Based on the shred of evidence, Ogwuche’s counsel, Ahmed Raji interjected, arguing that “the suspect is not standing trial on whether or not he is a member of a terrorist group banned in the UK.
He opposed the evidence saying the prosecution did not tell the court of the deportation order and therefore cannot give evidence on its content.
Raji said the evidence PW1 was giving was irrelevant to counts 1, 3,4,5,6,7 and 8 leveled against Ogwuche, saying “even if the evidence is relevant, it has to pass a test of admissibility. The PW1 has to produce the CTC of the deportation order”.
He urged the court to discountenance the evidence.
All counsels to the other accused persons associated themselves with Raji’s submission.
Diri, however urged the court to allow PW1 to continue with his evidence, saying, the matter borders on terrorism.
In a bench ruling, Justice Mohammed upheld the objection of Raji, saying PW1 is barred from giving such evidence unless he has the deportation order.
