Court admits autopsy in trial of security operatives over SS2 student’s killing

A High Court in Yola, Adamawa State, has admitted an autopsy report as evidence in the trial of security operatives accused of torturing and killing a 17-year-old secondary school student, Abdullahi Tukur Abba.

The Guardian recalls that Tukur was arrested on August 5, 2023, after a neighbor lodged a complaint with the task force over a missing phone and was allegedly beaten to a stupor before he was admitted at the Modibbo Adama University Teaching Hospital, Yola, where he died.

Presiding over the case, Justice Musa Usman accepted the report after it was tendered by prosecution witness Dr. Aminu Dahiru, a consultant at Modibbo Adama Teaching Hospital and a senior lecturer at Modibbo Adama University, Yola.

Dr. Dahiru, 43, who resides in Yola South LGA, submitted the autopsy findings through the Director of Public Prosecution, I. A. Jada, who appeared alongside Senior State Counsels S. B. Digil and L. M. Dodo. The report, marked as Exhibit A1, was identified by the witness as containing his name and signature.

During his testimony, Dr. Dahiru stated that he was contacted on August 9, 2023, by police investigator Badamasi Sanusi to conduct an autopsy on the deceased. He revealed that Abdullahi developed severe health complications after being brutally beaten, leading to unconsciousness and eventual death due to brain trauma, swelling, and other injuries.
Under cross-examination, Dr. Dahiru confirmed that the brain injuries were caused by trauma but acknowledged that trauma could also result from an accident. He was questioned by defense counsels Onye Ukaegbu, U. A. Bello, and A. A. Tahir, representing the first, second, and third defendants.

The trial involves personnel from Operation Farauta, including Inspector Bashir Mamman, Inspector Paul Chaballenda, Baba Buba, and Corporal Stephen Zwalkur, who remains at large. The defendants face charges of conspiracy and murder for allegedly subjecting the SS2 student of Sabilul Rashad School in Yola South LGA to severe torture and brutality in August 2023.

The case continues as the court examines further evidence.