By: Audrey Raymonda John
In the ongoing murder matter between the State vs Ikubolaje Nicol alias Bola, the Prosecution has closed their case and the defence made no case submission.
The lead defence Lawyer Roland Wright started by expressing sincere sympathy to the bereaved family of Sinnah Kai Kargbo. The prosecution he said has failed to establish any offence whatsoever again Ikubolajeh Nicol. No evidence he said has been adduced that the accused acted in any manner that resulted in the death.
The core witness of the prosecution he said corroborated how the deceased attacked the accused but was rushed to the hospital by the very accused person.
He said there has not been any explanation about the cause of death because the death certificate tendered cannot be relied on in so far as the maker of the content has not been brought to testify in court. The said document he said is a mere opinion which ought to be tested. So, the content of the death certificate must be disregarded.
He said there is also a total absence before the court that somebody died. Three witnesses he said testified that the deceased was still alive at the time she was taken into the hospital ward. The hospital he argued doesn’t take dead patients into their wards.
Therefore, the fact that a nurse alerted her colleagues to prepare the ICU of the hospital after several minutes of checkup on her downstairs shows there was life. The doctor and nurse who attended to the patient had testified before the court about foaming at the mouth as a result of excessive fluid in the lungs.
“It will appear the cause of death certificate was predetermined; hence the author did not come before the court to be tested”.
“The prosecution did not say there was a quarrel or a fight, all their witnesses said they met her on the floor and they put a spoon in her mouth to prevent her from biting her tongue”. That he said defeats their argument of strangulation.
The Prosecution objected that the defence at this stage cannot make a no case submission before the accused is put to his election. But that application by the prosecution was overruled.
No case submission is to resume on Friday 24 March 2023.
