Doctor’s absence stalls trial of slain Jumia agent

By Brave Dickson

A high court in Port Harcourt has again adjourned till Nov 15, following the inability of the 6th prosecution witnesses who is a medical doctor to testify in court in a murder trial of one Jumia delivery agent, Chukwuma Eleje who was killed in 2017.

The defendants, Sodienye Mbatumukeke and Excel Naabe who were accused of killing the victim have been coming to court from prison for the past two years on the grounds that the matter will be given an accelerated hearing.

Counsel to the 1st defendant and representative of the Legal Aid Council of Nigeria, Barr. Kingdom Chukwuezie in an interview with our correspondent viewed the slow pace of the trial as worrisome, noting that if the prosecution does not show seriousness, he will apply for his client’s bail.

Barr Chukwuezie said: “Yes, the matter came up for hearing and the business of the court on it was to take the evidence of the 6th prosecution witnesses (PW6) who happens to be a medical doctor but the witness was not in court.

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“The prosecution counsel informed the court that the witness had another engagement outside Rivers State and that he could not procure the attendance of the witness in court and prayed the court to give one more adjournment to enable him bring the witness in court on the next adjourned date.

“But, we the defence counsel are not happy with that. The matter has been delayed and it was our view that the matter should have been concluded as quickly as possible for the defendants to know their fate. The issue of the delay is what we frowned at and we have actually informed the court of our reservation over the prolonged delay on the account that the prosecution is not ensuring that his witness is in court.

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“We indulged the prosecution in the interest of justice to enable them to come with their witness so that the court can hear the full case. For this reason, I can say that the prosecution had not been serious. For the past two years of this trial, the prosecution had not been able to conclude their witnesses.

“We are worried that the defendants are not on bail. The court had preferred an accelerated hearing rather than going for the defendants’ bail because the court wants the matter to be heard and dispensed with as fast as possible. And that understanding was what we had, but midway, we are not seeing it be that fast and all the delay has been at the instance of the prosecution.

“We are not happy. We have stated that if it happens again, we will have no option than to put in a bail application for the court to grant them bail so that if the prosecution is not ready to go on with the matter, the defendants can be coming to court from their houses. In that way, nobody will be in a hurry again, if the prosecution wants the matter to be delayed longer than necessary then so be it.”