Four of the five suspects standing trial for the alleged murder of Sunday Joshua, a security guard at the New Trafford Hotels and Suites in Bauchi State have tested positive for COVID-19.
The arraignment of the five accused, which include the Managing Director of the hotel, Innocent Ejeh, at the Chief Magistrate Court 7, Yelwa, on Wednesday, was stalled following a letter written to the court that four accused persons, Abdul-Rasheed Shuaibu, Jacob Joshua, Joshua Ibrahim and Timothy Yunusa, were confirmed positive.
Innocent Ejeh and the four others are standing trial for criminal conspiracy and culpable homicide in accordance with sections 96 and 221 of the Penal Code laws.
The trial Magistrate, Safiya Salihu, read the letter from the state Correctional Centre dated June 11th, 2020.
According to him, the four accused were confirmed positive for coronavirus by the National Center for Disease Control(NCDC) in the state.
He adjourned the case to July 14 for further mentioning and arraignment as requested by the prosecution Police Officer, Sergeant Ayuba who pleaded for adjustment.
The Prosecution Officer told the court that the accused persons could not be in court due to the reasons stated in the letter from the Correctional centre in Bauchi.