By John Ikani
A Magistrate Court in Yola, Adamawa State, has remanded Aminu Yar’Adua, son of the late former President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, over the killing of four people in an auto crash.
Yar’Adua, a 36-year-old student of the American University of Nigeria (AUN) Yola, was charged to court for allegedly causing death by dangerous driving on June 23, 2021.
In the police First Information Report (FIR) tendered in court by Zakka Musa, the prosecutor, the 36-year-old, while driving along Yola by-pass, was said to have been over speeding and in the process, crushed six people with his vehicle.
The court heard that four of the victims were killed and the other two were injured in the accident, with the victims all hailing from Sabon Pegi, Yola South Local Government Area.
“Those that died in the accident were identified as; Aisha Umar (30), Aisha Mamadu (32), Suleiman Abubakar(2) and Jummai Abubakar (30), while, Rejoice Annu (28) and Hajara Aliyu(27) sustained injuries,” the report read.
The prosecuting officer told the court that the relatives of late Aisha Umar, Suleiman Abubakar and Jummai Abubakar had demanded the sum of N15 million from the defendant as compensation.
But when the FIR was read to the defendant on Thursday, he denied committing the offence and described the allegation as untrue.
At that point, the prosecutor pleaded with the court to adjourn the matter, to enable him duplicate the case file and forward to the Department of Public Prosecutions (DPP) for legal advice.
Jummai Ibrahim, the magistrate, granted the prosecution’s request and adjourned the matter till August 19 for further mention.
The magistrate also ordered that Aminu Yar’Adua be remanded in prison custody until the next adjourned date.
Earlier reports said Aminu barely escaped lynching on the day of the accident as a mob descended on him for killing the four pedestrians and injuring two others.
Among the four killed was a toddler.
The prompt intervention of policemen at the scene of the accident, saved Yar’adua, said to be an off-campus student of AUN.
