|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
A chief magistrates’ court in Kafanchan, Kaduna State, has ordered the remand of a 30-year-old woman, Mercy Michael, for allegedly causing the death of her eight-month-old daughter by administering rat poison.
The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) charged Michael with culpable homicide, a violation of Section 189 of the Kaduna State Penal Code Law.
Prosecutor Marcus Audu informed the court that on December 11, Godfrey Sunday, a resident of Fadia Bakut, Zonkwa, reported the incident to the NSCDC. According to Audu, the tragic event occurred on December 10 when the defendant inexplicably fed her infant with rat poison.
The baby was rushed to the General Hospital, Zonkwa, but succumbed to the poisoning the following day. Initially, the case was reported to the Salama Sexual Assault Referral Centre in Kafanchan, before being referred to the NSCDC for further investigation.
Presiding judge Samson Kwasu declined to take the defendant’s plea due to the court’s lack of jurisdiction over the case. He instructed the prosecutor to forward the case file to the Kaduna State Director of Public Prosecution for legal advice.
The case has been adjourned to December 17 for further mention.
