A Federal Capital Territory High Court, Maitama, on Tuesday, discharged a teenager, Chibuike Ikedukwu, who allegedly caused the death of one Safiyanu Idris.
Ikedukwu, now 21, was arraigned on Feb. 3, 2016, on a charge bordering on culpable homicide, as he was alleged to have stabbed Idris to death on Dec. 31, 2014, at Rafin Kwari in Kwari area of Abuja.
The police also alleged that Ikedukwu stabbed the deceased with a knife on the stomach, leading to the death of Idris.
The defendant and the deceased, the police said, quarreled following an argument on non-payment of the money for Indian hemp that Ikedukwu sold to the deceased.
The prosecutor, Mr Abbas Lawan, told the court that the offence was contrary to Section 220 (a) of the Penal Code, punishable under Section 221 of the Code.
At the resumed hearing on Tuesday, the prosecuting counsel, Olubukola Ajiga, informed the court that the prosecution could not get enough evidence to convict the defendant.
Ajiga said that the second prosecution witness (PW2), called to testify, said that the family of the deceased was not willing to further pursue the case, and that they were pulling out of the matter.
She, therefore, said that she lacked the power to withdraw the matter from the court, as she did not have the mandate of the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) to do so.
In his ruling, Justice Hussein Baba-Yusuf, said that the court was for serious business, noting that he had no option, in view of the prevailing circumstance, but to strike out the case.
“The business of the court is not a picnic. In view of the position the prosecution has found itself, I hereby strike out the case, and the accused person is discharged accordingly,” Baba-Yusuf ruled.