By Janet A. Sesay
The state has closed its case and the defence opened their no case submission on behalf of former Skye Bank General Manager Ikubolaje Nicole who is accused of conspiring with unknown persons to murder Sinnah Kai Kargbo between 15 and 16 October 2022 at Leicester in Freetown.
According to the charge sheet, on 17 October 2022, at the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) on Pademba Road in Freetown, he is also alleged to have fabricated evidence with intent to pervert the course of justice.
The no case submission was made by defence counsel Roland Wright on Thursday 23 March 2023 before the Principal Magistrate Mark Ngegba of the Freetown Magistrate Court No.1 and will continue today Friday 24 March 2023.
Making his submission, Roland Wright started his no case submission by expressing his sincere sympathy to the bereaved family of Sinnah Kai Kargbo.
Lawyer Wright said the prosecution absolutely failed to establish any offence that they said was committed by the accused Ikubolaje Nicole.
He furthered that the duty of the prosecution is to establish the probability and various elements like the mens rea in a murder case.
At this juncture state counsel A. Jalloh objected that defence counsel at this stage cannot make a no case submission when the prosecution had just closed their case, citing section 115 of the Criminal Procedure Act No 32 of 1965.
Responding, lawyer Wright said the state counsel’s objection made no sense.
State counsel was overruled by Magistrate Ngegba and defence counsel continued his no case submission.
Lawyer Wright furthered that there is no evidence before the court indicating that the accused acted in any manner relating to Kargbo’s death, adding that the testimonies of the prosecution witnesses corroborated that the deceased had an attack and she was rushed to the hospital for treatment by the accused.
He said no explanation was given by the prosecution about “exhibit J” which is the medical certificate of the cause of death, which certificate cannot be relied on by the prosecution because the maker of the content Dr Owizz Koroma who is the government pathologist was not brought to testify in court.
He furthered that the failure of the prosecution to produce Dr Owizz in court to testify meant they had denied themselves the opportunity to establish their case as to the cause of death of the deceased.
Lawyer Wright furthered that Dr Owizz’s document was a mere opinion which ought to have been tested in court, but because he was not brought before the court, the content of the death certificate must be disregarded.
He said there is also a total absence before the court that somebody had died, adding that three witnesses testified in court that the deceased was still alive up to the time she was taken into the hospital ward.
The hospital he argued does not take dead patients into their wards and therefore, the fact that a nurse alerted her colleagues to prepare the ICU after several minutes of checking up on the deceased downstairs showed that the deceased was still alive.
He continued that the doctor and nurse who attended to the patient had testified before the court that the deceased was foaming at the mouth and this was a result of excessive fluid in the lungs.
Lawyer Wright said that it will appear that the cause of death certificate was predetermined hence the reason the author did not come before the court to be tested.
The prosecution he said did not say there was a quarrel or a fight between the accused and the deceased, but that all their witnesses said they met the deceased on the floor and they put a spoon in her mouth to prevent her from biting her tongue, which defeated the case by the prosecution who reportedly stated that the deceased died of strangulation.
At this juncture lawyer Wright sought for a date that he will continue his submission today 24 March 2023.