The Nigerian Army has
dismissed Sunday Umaru, for killing Charity Thomas, his lover, over a phone
call. Umaru, a married man, was on posting at the special task force
(STF), sector 7, Barkin Ladi, Plateau, at the time of the incident, on January
23, 2016.
He was taken before a Barkin-Ladi high court on Friday. Umaru
was first arraigned on July 14, 2016 on a one-count charge of culpable
homicide.
He was specifically accused of killing his lover, who came
to visit him from Kaduna, by stabbing her with a knife in the stomach and
slaughtering her thereafter.
According to the prosecutor, W.T Awe, of the Plateau state
ministry of justice, the accused person committed the crime on January 23, 2016
in Barkin Ladi.
Awe, during the arraignment, told the court that the Nigeria
Army had court-martialed the accused, dismissed him after they found him
guilty, and handed him over to the police for prosecution.
He said the accused person had told the police, in a
confessional statement, that the deceased visited him sometime in January 2016,
after which they had a misunderstanding which led to her death.
“In the statement, the accused alleged that the deceased
used a kitchen knife to stab herself after which he (accused), removed the
knife and ‘helped’ her to complete the act by slaughtering her,” Awe said.
Awe further quoted the accused as saying that he was in the
sitting room while Charity was in the kitchen at 7 pm on January 23, when
Charity’s phone rang and he picked the call.
The accused, in the statement, said a man’s voice at the
other insisted on speaking with Charity, but that he (accused) demanded to know
who he (caller) was.
He claimed that instead of answering his inquiries, the
caller rained insults on him.
Umaru, according to the statement, dropped the call, went to
the kitchen and asked Charity who the caller was, but that Charity refused to
provide answers to his questions, opting to remind him that he (Umaru) was a
married man.
The accused further claimed that Charity, in a fit of anger,
called off the relationship and declared that she was no more interested in him
(Umaru), especially since her parents had consistently warned her against the
affair.
“Umaru said that he got angry and slapped her, which angered
Charity, who quickly picked a knife and stabbed herself in the stomach,” Awe
told the court.
The statement further indicated that Charity fell down
thereafter, with the accused removing the knife from her stomach and
slaughtering her “to complete the job she started”.
Umaru thereafter took her body outside, left it there and
reported for duty at 8 pm.
The prosecutor said the accused, from his duty point, went
to see his family at the Maxwell Kobe Cantonment, Rukuba Barracks, after
telling his boss that his wife wanted to see him over “a very pressing issue”.
“Charity’s lifeless body was found the next day by neighbours,
while military men, who came to evacuate the body, trailed the blood marks to
the accused person’s house,” Awe said.
“Friends of the accused also recognised the girl as Umaru’s
lover, who was seen with him the previous day.”
He said a team of military men, mobilised to go after the
accused, arrested him at his home in the barracks, while in the company of his
family.
According to Awe, the accused was court-martialed by the
military and dismissed.
He said during investigation, the police discovered several
gory pictures and videos of the deceased that the accused took in his phone,
immediately after the murder.
The accused has, however, pleaded not guilty to the charge
During his first appearance in July 2016, Umaru’s counsel,
David Adudu, prayed the court to grant his client bail, citing section 36(5) of
the 1999 constitution which says that an accused is presumed innocent until
otherwise proven.
Adudu had added that if the bail was granted, his client
would neither jump bail nor interfere with police investigation.
The judge admitted the accused to bail in the sum of
N200,000 and two sureties in like sum.
Gang, who ordered that the sureties must reside within the
jurisdiction of the court, said that they must submit two copies of their
recent passport photographs, copies of their national ID cards, GCE
certificates and copies of their rights of occupancy.
He thereafter adjourned the matter till March 30, for
hearing.
Since the judge was not available to hear the case, the
matter was adjourned till May 25.
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