Burglary: Court orders arrest of 2 NSCDC personnel over abscondment

From Ibrahim Sidi Muh’d, Gusau

The Senior Magistrate, Aminu Sani presiding over Magistrate Court II sitting in Gusau, Zamfara State, has ordered arrest of two personnel of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defense Corps (NSCDC) for abscondment.

Earlier, counsel to the plaintiff, Barrister Surajo Garba Gusau, prayed the court to order the two accused NSCDC personnel to appear before the court in person.

The application was followed the several disappearing of the accused personnel especially as their participation in persons become necessary before the court for uninterrupted legal proceedings by the court.

In a bench ruling, the court granted the application and ordered the warrant arrest of the officers.

The Counsel to the plaintiff, barrister Garba Surajo Gusau, said the two absconded were amongst the five accused persons arraigned before the court over the charges of break of shop and theft belonging to his client, Yusha’u Aliyu.

Barrister Garba Surajo further challenged the prayer by the Counsel to the Defense for the court to discharge the case as his clients are civil servants whose actions under the umbrella of the state government should be considered above any law.

According to barrister Surajo Gusau, only the President and his Vice, Governors and their Deputies could enjoy section 308 of the 1999 constitution as amended that formidably offered immunity for them while in office.

He said the Counsel to the Defense did not quote any section of the Nigerian constitution upon which he relied to have presented a request for the court to discharge the case.

It would be recalled, Senior Staffers of the Zamfara Urban and Regional Planning (ZUREP) alongside two personnel of the NSCDC, had been arraigned before the Magistrate Court II Gusau under the charges of alleged burglary and theft.

The case was adjourned to the 15th January for ruling over prayers by the two parties.