Akinwale Akintunde
11 July 2009
Lagos — There was palpable tension at an Ikeja High Court yesterday as Dr. Ore Falomo was called to testify in the on-going trial of Major Hamza Al-Mustapha, former Chief Security Officer to the late Head of State, Gen. Sani Abacha and two others on a two-count charge of conspiracy and murder of Alhaja Kudirat Abiola.
Counsel to the defendants, Mr. Olalekan Ojo engaged in a heated argument with the trial judge, Justice Mojisola Dada who complained of his conduct while cross-examining Dr. Falomo, the sixth prosecution witness in the trial.
Justice Dada was annoyed with Ojo for the manner he addressed the witness, asking him to act like a gentleman of the bar.
"There must be a level of respect from the bar to the bench. Do every case with humility. You must know how to conduct yourself in court."
Speaking further, she said: "You are indulging in so many frivolities and the court didn't brief you, so your liberties should be at the defendants. The witness in the witness box is an old man, so treat him with courtesy."
The former CSO and two others, Lateef Shofolahan and Rabo Lawal are standing trial for the murder of late Kudirat Abiola, wife of late business mogul, Chief M.K.O Abiola on June 4, 1996.
Dr. Falomo, who was the personal physician to late M.K.O Abiola and a close friend to the entire Abiola family told the court in his testimony that he and a team of neurosurgeons operated on Kudirat and retrieved a white cylindrical bullet that has some marks on it from her brain, adding that the bullet was taken by the police after the post mortem for investigation.
He also informed the court that under legal medical ethics, the bullet was supposed to be given to the family of the deceased since it was recovered from her body.
However during cross- examination, Ojo said since the witness was not a ballistician, he could not give evidence as to the accurate form or description of the bullet.
Dr. Falomo also told the court that he made all his statements in June 1996 at Adeniji Adele police station but was however confronted with a statement that was purportedly made by him on October 26, 1999. Dr. Falomo admitted to making the statement but claimed that the date on the statement was not correct.
Ojo however sought to tender the statement as a contradiction to the testimony of the witness when he said all statements were made in June 1996.
"Somebody must be lying: if the witness is correct, then something must be wrong with those in charge of taking the statement and with respect those in charge of this prosecution. This document is relevant to the credibility of the witness and for the court to be able to take any address from the parties; the document ought to be in court as evidence."
Justice Dada in her ruling on the statement said, "It is trite in law that the date on the statement is an integral part of the statement." She therefore overruled the opposition of the prosecution by admitting the statement in evidence.
After the cross-examination and admission of evidence, the witness was discharged and the case was further adjourned till July14, 2009 for continuation of trial.
Be the first to Write a Comment!
Copyright © 2009 This Day. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
