Suspected mastermind of the 2011 Christmas Day bombing of St Theresa Catholic Church in Madalla, Niger State, Mr. Kabiru Sokoto, yesterday told a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja that the Federal Government had no evidence linking him with the crime.
Sokoto spoke moments after the Federal Government closed its case against him after calling eight witnesses who took turn to testify against the accused.
The suspected bomber told the court that rather than defending the case by calling his own witnesses, he would file a no-case-submission.
No-case-submission is a submission by an accused to the effect that the prosecution had no evidence linking him to the charge.
When it is successfully argued, it terminates such trial.
The court presided over by Justice Ademola Adeniyi had already granted Sokoto the green-light to file the application.
Adeniyi granted seven days’ period as requested by Sokoto’s lawyer, Hassan Luqman, to enable him file and serve the no-case-submission.
Similarly, the court granted five days as requested by the prosecution counsel, Mrs. Chioma Onuegbu, to file all her reply processes.
Also, another two-day grace was granted to the accused to file a reply on points of law to the envisaged reply of the prosecution if need be.
However, the judge adjourned the matter to June 7, when both counsel are expected to adopt their addresses in respect of the application for no-case-submission.
Sokoto is standing trial over an allegation that he was the mastermind of the Christmas Day bombing of St Theresa Catholic Church, Madalla, Niger State in which many worshippers lost their lives.
Earlier, the prosecuting counsel had brought in three additional witnesses who testified before the court against the accused.
Mr. GHI (not real name), a staff of State Security Service, SSS, had identified the accused and the statement he wrote in his own handwriting at the conference room of the service.
He said: “I know the accused; I came across him on the 24th of February, 2012 when my superior asked me to lead him to the conference room where he would make his statement.”
According to the witness, who was masked due to the secret trial, the accused said he preferred his statement in Hausa language, “which he did without force, duress or coercion”.
Also, witness JKL, a staff of SSS told the court that he came in contact with Sokoto on December 14, 2012 when he led him to take his statement.
He said: “The accused voluntarily opted to write his statement in Hausa language; so I gave him writing materials which he used in writing his statement.”
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