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From Desmond Mgboh, Kano
The Kano State Attorney General, Musa. A. Lawan, has absolved the Majority Leader of the House of Representatives, Alhassan Ado Garba Doguwa, of complicity in the case of culpable homicide preferred against him, saying the allegation that he killed some New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP) supporters during the National Assembly elections in Tudun Wada town, could not be substantiated.
In press conference, yesterday, Musa, explained that the ministry observed that there were discrepancies in the statements of witnesses, regarding the actual involvement of the legislator in the commission of the alleged offence, adding that while some of his accusers stated that they saw him with a dane gun, others said they saw him with a pistol.
The attorney general added that the ministry has sufficient evidence, including confessional statements as contained in the case file, that it was the supporters of the NNPP that blocked the main road to the collation centre in the area, with a view to preventing electoral results from reaching the centre.
He added that the fire, which eventually extended to NNPP office and burnt it down, was also triggered by the bonfire that was lighted by the NNPP supporters in the area, adding that it was clear that the first and second deceased persons participated in setting up the very fire that eventually led to their death.
He equally noted that the body of the third deceased person, who was alleged to have stated that he knew his killer before he died, could not be found in the private hospital where he was said to have passed away, even as he added that no autopsy, whatsoever, was conducted on the remains of any of the deceased persons alleged to have died or killed during the political dispute in the town during the elections.
The attorney general noted that the medical doctor, who signed the medical reports of those who were injured and discharged by the hospital, had admitted to investigators that he did not examine any of the victims he signed their report, but relied on what his staff told him of their cases.
The attorney general, who added that the pistols of the second and third suspects were sent to Lagos for a ballistic analysis, stated that the ballistician in Lagos affirmed that the 15 round ammunition were intact, and were not fired contrary to the allegation that Doguwa took the same pistol from the second and third suspects and fired them at his alleged victims.
He declared that no bullet or a bullet shell was recovered at the scenes of the crime and no bullet was recovered from the injured persons alleged to have been shot by the legislator, adding that, “we could not find medical evidence to prove that the death of the deceased persons was caused by the act or omission of Doguwa.
The legislator was fingered in the death of some members of the NNPP, during the presidential/ national assembly elections in Tudun Wada.
He was arrested, arraigned before a magistrate’s court and remanded at a correctional facility in the state, before he was granted bail by the Federal High Court in Kano.
His case was re-investigated by the Inspector General of Police team and the report of the re-investigation was sent to the Director, Public Prosecution, in the state for legal advice.
