Court remands wife of slain, ex-PDP Chairman’s son in prison

MARYAM Sanda was yesterday arraigned by the Police before a High Court of the Federal Capital Territory in Jabi, Abuja on charges of culpable homicide for allegedly stabbing her husband, Bilyamin Bello, to death on November 19. Bilyamin Bello is the son of the former acting Chairman of PDP, an ex-minister of Defense, Haliru Bello. She was accused of culpable homicide punishable by death under section 221 of the Penal Code Law. Sanda was alleged to have stabbed the deceased in the chest with a broken bottle. She was also accused of causing Bello “grievous hurt ” by stabbing him on the neck, an act said to be contrary to section 240 (g) and punishable under section 247 of the Penal Code Law. The incident was said to have taken place at about 3.50am on November 19, 2017 at their residence at 4, Pakali Close, Wuse Zone II, Abuja. After the nursing mother pleaded not guilty to the two counts read to her yesterday, Justice Yusuf Halilu remanded her in Suleja Prison, Niger State. The prosecuting counsel, Mr. James Idachaba, told the court that the charges filed against the defendant on November 20 were products of a preliminary investigation. He said with the new facts that emerged after further investigation, the charges would still be amended. The defence counsel, Mr. Oseni Musa, asked the court to grant the defendant bail. He pleaded that since the defendant was nursing an infant of less than six months old, she should be remanded in police custody pending the determination of her bail application. But the trial judge directed that the defence should file a formal application in that regard. He insisted that once an accused was arraigned, the proper place of custody was the prison and not the custody of the investigating agency. The judge then ordered her to be remanded in Suleja prison and adjourned until December 7, 2017.