Court Halts Attempt To Stop Release Of Corpse

An Abuja High Court on Thursday dismissed an application for an interim injunction stopping the National Hospital from releasing the corpse of an Italian, Mauro Zanin, 52.

Justice Hussein Baba-Yusuf struck out the motion exparte in a ruling he delivered on an application filed by Dr. Mma Wokocha, asking the court to restrain the National Hospital from releasing the corpse of Zanin to anybody.

Also mentioned as defendants are Magellamo Ltd., EFCC and the Italian Embassy.

Wokocha in her application, asked the court to also stop the Italian Embassy from recovering Zanin’s corpse until she was paid the sum of 111,000 dollars.

The amount, she said, was money Zanin, an alleged fraudster, swindled from her.

Zanin died in detention at the EFCC headquarters in Abuja on June 19.

The anti-graft agency claimed that Zanin committed suicide.

The EFCC claimed that the motionless body of Zanin was found in the bathroom of the commission’s detention facility in Abuja at about 4.50 a.m. on June 19.

Zanin was arrested by officers of the Nigerian Immigration Service and transferred to the EFCC following a complaint by  Ahamefula Ewuzie and Dr. Wokocha, that the suspect fraudulently obtained the sum of 111,000 dollars from them.

The commission had filed a five-count charge against him in court and was to be arraigned on Wednesday June 20 before he died.

In his ruling, Baba-Yusuf held that the application for the interim injunction was incompetent and must be thrown out because there was no disclosure of urgency of the matter.

Baba-Yusuf further held that the averments in the affidavit of urgency did not meet up with the provisions of Section 115 (3 and 4) of the Evidence Act 2011(as amended).

He said that on the motion paper, Wokocha had averred that she leant that some people were trying to remove the corpse of Zanin with the intention of taking it to Italy.

The judge said that under Section 115, which covered documents produced as record of evidence before any court given by a witness, Wokocha failed to show to the court who gave her the information.

The judge further held that the applicant (Wokocha), could not swear to an affidavit containing the statement or information from another person, whose name was not mentioned.

“Any statements that must be averred in any affidavit is supposed to be made and signed by the person swearing that all that was said in the affidavit is true.

“I am not satisfied with this application because it has failed to meet up with the provisions of Section 115 (3 and 4) of the Evidence Act,” he said.

Baba-Yusuf adjourned the suit to Monday, July 16 for the hearing of a motion on notice.