By Olanrewaju Onigegewura
Everyone in Kaduna knew Omobolaji Gaji. He was a solicitor and advocate of the Supreme Court of Nigeria. He was one of the leading lawyers in Northern Nigeria at the time. Rauph Omobolaji Gaji was an irrepressible advocate who was known far and beyond Kaduna where he had his base. However, he did not start his practice in Kaduna. It was in Lagos that he cut his legal teeth before he moved up North. If you had a complex case, one of the lawyers you would consider to stand in for you was Gaji, of counsel.
Gaji was as brilliant as he was versatile. He was at home with Land Law as he was comfortable with Law of Taxation. Criminal Law and Procedure was his forte, and hardly could you beat him when Law of Torts was on the table. Have I told you that he had a perfect mastery of English Language? His English was impeccable and flawless. This was years before written brief became the norm. Then, oral advocacy was the index the average man used for measuring the competence of a legal practitioner, and in this, Gaji excelled. No wonder he was known across the length and breadth of Kaduna as Gaji the Law or ROG.
He was the counsel for the appellant in the popular case of Ali Abadallabe v. Bornu Native Authority where he ingeniously asked my Noble Lords of the Supreme Court whether a burglar had a right to defend himself. He was also the defence counsel in the popular case of Queen v. Bello. Has Onigegewura told you that ROG was also popular? He was familiar to all the judges in Kaduna and was not a stranger to all the lawyers who practiced in the town at the time. There was even a rumour that ROG was a member of an exclusive club with some of the important stakeholders in the justice sector.
He belonged to the prestigious Lincoln’s Inn. Having been called to the Bar on 25 November 1952 and enrolled in the Supreme Court on Wednesday, 14 January 1953, he was already a senior lawyer when this tragic story happened. In fact, My Lord Justice Baptist Ayodola Coker described him as a “legal practitioner of many years standing.”
It was therefore only natural that he was the lawyer retained by Gladys Wey whose appeal was coming up before the Supreme Court. It was indeed an important matter and Wey had full confidence in her counsel. She had won the case in the High Court. The matter was now coming up before the Supreme Court to be determined with the finality which only the apex court could boast of. Onigegewura has already told you in the story of The Fall of a Godfather that there was no intermediate appellate court in other parts of the country outside the Western State before 1976.
Mrs Wey, a health practitioner, had arrived in Kaduna from her base in Zaria on the eve of the hearing of the appeal before the Supreme Court, and being a stranger in the city, she decided to put up with her lawyer. Young lawyers who are reading this story might be wondering whether the Supreme Court was ever in Kaduna. At the material time, the Supreme Court used to practice what was then known as assize. You are wondering what the term assize stands for. Onigegewura will tell you. When a court decides to have periodic sittings in different places, it is called assize. In those days, the Supreme Court used to have assize in Ibadan, Enugu and Kaduna to ensure that the litigants in those far-flung places were not deprived of justice on account of cost of travelling to Lagos.
That was the reason Gladys Wey found herself in the residence of ROG that fateful day. She was not the only guest in the house that evening. Gaji’s friend, Isaac Oshonoike who was working with the Posts & Telecommunications [previously known as Posts and Telegraphs] was also around. At the time, P & T was the body responsible for postal and telecommunication services throughout the country. The body was later unbundled into Nigerian Postal Service and Nigerian Telecommunication Limited respectively.
Wey and Oshonoike were soon joined by the duo of Cordelia Ego Ejiofor and Christopher Brown. Cordelia was Gaji’s girlfriend. She was a twenty-one year old teacher working in Kaduna. She had brought Brown to meet with her boyfriend that evening regarding possible employment as a legal secretary. Gaji had told her that he needed a secretary/typist and she promised to assist him to recruit a competent hand. Brown happened to have come from the same part of the country with her and she was confident that her ‘brother’ would get a job with her boyfriend. Gaji’s houseboy, Friday Igwegbu, was also in the house. He was the one who offered Brown a bottle of soft drink.
But their host was not around. Onigegewura has told you that Gaji was a master of English language. Perhaps that was the reason he was chosen to serve as the Master of Ceremonies at a social thanksgiving service which held that day at the Palace Hotel. He was at the event whilst the four guests and the houseboy waited for him at home.
Whilst Mrs Wey and Mr. Oshonoike were in their separate guest rooms, Cordelia and Christopher Brown were waiting for Gaji in the living room. The two of them heaved a sigh of relief when their host sauntered in. Their relief however turned into something else when they saw the countenance of the learned gentleman who entered. It was Gaji quite alright, but his visage was anything but friendly. He noticed that Brown was cradling a bottle of soft drink, perhaps this was what infuriated him. Cordelia must have sensed the change in her boyfriend’s temperament and she quickly explained that Brown was the male secretary they had earlier agreed she was to bring for interview. Gaji brusquely interviewed the applicant and immediately told him that he could not employ him.
Brown needed no further prompting. You already know that wọn kò fẹ ẹ niìlú, ó ń dárin, tí ó bá dárin náà tán, tani yóò ba ọ gbee? [You are not wanted in a town and you then decided to sing, if you sing who will join you to sing the chorus]. Brown jumped up from his seat and bade goodbye to the assembly. At the door, he turned to wave at Cordelia who gave him a reassuring smile to signify that everything was under control.
If only he knew!
The following morning, Gaji appeared before the Noble Lords of the Supreme Court to defend the appeal of his client. It was ROG at his best. With his flawless command of English language, and his mastery of the law, he left no one in doubt that his sobriquet, Gaji the Law, was a deserving title. It was not the only case he did that day. He also argued a couple of criminal appeals bordering on murder.
Christopher Brown was waiting to hear from Cordelia on whether she had succeeded in convincing the lawyer to change his mind. He wondered what must have triggered the renowned legal practitioner to have reacted the way he did when they had never met before. He was not the only one waiting. Cordelia’s sister who lived with her, Nkemdinem Ejiofor was also waiting. Before Cordelia went out that fateful evening, she had instructed Nkem to prepare yam for dinner and that she would come back very soon. Nkem finished cooking and waited for her sister to return. But Cordelia never returned.
Of course, she knew Lawyer Gaji and of his relationship with her sister. The previous week when Nkem’s child had convulsion, Gaji was the one who took them to a native doctor who assisted in finding solution to the illness. She also knew that her sister had told her that she was taking Brown to Gaji’s house. When by morning Cordelia had not returned, she informed people in the neighbourhood. Her major challenge was that she did not know Gaji’s residence but she knew someone who did. Temilade Bepo was Cordelia’s friend and classmate at the Teachers’ College. Together, the two of them made their way to the lawyer’s house on Abuja Road.
Fortunately, the gentleman of the Bar was at home having just come back from court. Gaji recognised Nkem as his girlfriend’s sister. He told them that Cordelia was not with him. He explained to the ladies that his house boy, Friday Igwebu, told him that Cordelia came with one boy but that they did not meet him at home.
He sympathised with the two young ladies and promised to use all his legal skills to look for his dear girlfriend. It was difficult to know whether they believed him or not. Having no evidence to prove otherwise, they left to continue their search for Cordelia. They did not go back to their house. They proceeded to Christopher Brown’s house to find out what he had done to Cordelia.
Brown was surprised on being informed that Gaji had denied seeing the two of them the previous night. He told the ladies to follow him in order to confirm from Gaji himself. It was however a different Gaji they met. The senior lawyer was shivering when they entered his house. Brown asked him if he had indeed said that he did not see them when they visited him. Strangely, Gaji changed his story. He admitted that he saw them but that Cordelia left immediately after Brown had taken his leave.
Brown was however not going to have any of it. He told the lawyer that Cordelia did not leave immediately because he saw the two of them, i.e., Gaji and Cordelia, on the veranda of the house when he was coming back from his brother who lived in the neighbourhood after leaving Gaji’s house.
The lawyer appeared confused for a moment. With the vehemence of Brown’s statements, it was certain that he was telling the truth and that it was the counsel who was being economical with the truth. Gaji advised that all of them should go back to Cordelia’s house to see if she was back. They all trooped into Gaji’s car and went to Cordelia’s house. There was no Cordelia.
Where could Cordelia have disappeared to? Could she have travelled back home to the East? Could she have been kidnapped? Was she involved in an accident on her way from Gaji’s house? They turned the whole of Kaduna upside down and inside out in their bid to locate Cordelia. They checked all hospitals and clinics in and around Kaduna. They visited police stations to see whether she was under arrest. It was around 10pm when they decided to call it a day.
It was a fruitless search….
The Kaduna Mystery: Will Cordelia Ever Be Found?
-Olanrewaju Onigegewura
Part II [Detective Farida Waziri and Senior State Counsel Isa Ayọ̀ Salami Joined the Case]
…Gaji then advised that her disappearance should be reported to the police which was done. Without any trace of Cordelia, and with the statement of Brown to the effect that he left her in the house of Gaji, the senior lawyer was arrested.
It was a strange twist of fate the day Gaji was arraigned before Chief Magistrate Salihu Belgore. For someone who was not only used to standing at the Bar to defend his client, but who had previously served as a magistrate himself in Kano, Gaji now stood in the dock. As Iya Agba would have said: ohun tí ó mú igún de ọdọ onídìrí kìí se kékeré [whatever must have taken the vulture to the stall of the hairdresser must be beyond ordinary]. He was accused of kidnapping Cordelia contrary to the provisions of Section 271 of the Penal Code.
As you already know, kidnapping is a bailable offence. When an offence is bailable, it means that the court has discretion whether or not to grant the defendant bail. Gaji was not a lawyer of two decades for nothing. He quickly applied to the Chief Magistrate for bail. With his stature at the Bar, and his undertaking to present himself for trial anytime he was summoned, he was granted bail. Gaji the Law was a free man, at least, for the moment.
It was a happy and boisterous Gaji that returned home triumphantly after his bail. His happiness was however not shared by the family and friends of Cordelia who were disheartened by the turn of event. Their expectation was that ROG would be held by the police until he was either able to produce Cordelia or disclose her whereabouts to them. Now, Gaji was a free man -at least for the time being, and their Cordelia was still nowhere to be found.
Onigegewura has told you that Cordelia was not a native of Kaduna. She was from the East Central State, one of the 12 States created in May 1967 by the Federal Military Government. The State is now made up of the present-day Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu and Imo States. Messages were sent across the Niger to her home State to the effect that Cordelia, a full-grown woman and a trained teacher, had disappeared without a trace. What was more, the man accused of being responsible for her disappearance had been granted bail. The whole of the East Central State erupted like a volcano, the like of which it had never experienced before.
Ukpabi Asika was the Administrator of the East Central State at the time. If you are familiar with Abuja, there is a street named after him in Asokoro. He was informed of the protests and of Cordelia’s disappearance. He realized that if the government failed to do something, the protest was not going to abate. He contacted the Governor of North Central State, Brigadier Abba Kyari, who had been appointed a governor at the tender age of 32. Ukpabi was assured that anyone responsible for the disappearance of Cordelia would be found and prosecuted. With the assurance from the North, Asika was able to placate the restless protesters.
Back in Kaduna, Governor Kyari -who had made history when he appointed a woman into his executive council at the time – directed all relevant agencies of government to swing into action and solve the mystery surrounding the disappearance of the young lady. Based on the report made by Christopher Brown, Gaji the Law was once again arrested and the investigation started all over. The challenge before the police officers investigating the matter was the fact that there was no body to start with, and Gaji refused to disclose what happened to Cordelia, insisting that she left his house that night after Brown had gone. It appeared that Gaji intended to take the secret to his grave, after all, obẹ̀ kìí mì níikùn àgbà [stew does not slosh around once inside an elder].To compound the issue, Gaji went on a hunger strike as a result of his detention.
One of the police officers who investigated the case was a brilliant young detective, Mrs Farida Waziri, who was later appointed the Executive Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission [2008-2011]. Interrogating an experienced counsel of the stature of Gaji was however not a stroll in the park as Waziri was to find out.
According to the seasoned detective, “I tried all known tactics to get the accused to reveal what he did with the body but to no avail…I had to employ feminine charms to get a confession out of him…”
You know that no matter how hard iron is, when heat is substantial, iron would melt. One day in the course of the investigation, it appeared that Gaji’s iron had been melted by Waziri’s heat. Gaji told the police officer that Cordelia -or rather her body- was at a particular place along Kaduna Road.
Finally!
It took all of Waziri’s professional experience to remain calm! Gaji had finally spoken. She mobilized her officers and off they went to the location described by the suspect. They did not go alone. They went with police dogs which had been trained to sniff out cadaver from wherever it is. After hours of digging and excavation like archaeologists searching for Ile-Ife bronze heads, the police officers realized that Gaji the Law had sent them on a wild goose chase.
Waziri was not someone to give up so easily. If anything, she was tenacity personified. She went back to the drawing board. She was determined to crack the kernel of Gaji’s calm exterior. Like a skilful psychologist, she deftly continued to probe the suspect. According to her, she appealed to Gaji’s vanity by telling him that: “You know, it’s not your fault. It’s an accident, these things happen. I will help you if you tell us where the body is.”
Again, it appeared that Gaji’s armour had cracked under the impact of Waziri’s skills. He told her that the body was at a location along Kachia Road. Once beaten twice shy, Waziri had learnt her lesson about how manipulative Gaji could be, she therefore asked him to confirm the exact location. Gaji admitted that this time around, he was telling the truth. He told Waziri: “You are kind. I thought no policewoman would like me because of the case I am here to answer.”
But it was another fruitless search.
Finally, a body was found, or let’s say that parts of what appeared to be a human body were found. It was a young girl, Saratu Jarmai, who stumbled on what remained of the body in Sabo Kakuri. She ran to inform her father, Bagudu Jarmai, of the gory discovery. The body was in such a state that Bagudu himself could not approach it but he could see that it appeared to be a female body because of the wrapper she had on. But the head was not part of what was found. It was later that the head was located some distance away. What was found was in such a state of deterioration that no one was certain whether it was Cordelia or another person.
Notwithstanding, the police concluded their investigations and forwarded the case file to the Director of Public Prosecution from where the file was forwarded to the Attorney General of North Central State. Mamman Nasir was the Attorney General at the time. He was called to the Bar on 29 November 1960, and was later appointed a Justice of the Supreme Court on 9 October 1975. When the Court of Appeal was established in 1976 as the penultimate appellate court, His Lordship moved from the Supreme Court to the Court of Appeal and later served as the 2nd President of the Court of Appeal between 1978 and 1992.
As you know already, ajá tí eré rẹ bá dáni lójú ni a n de si ehoro [it is a dog whose speed one has faith in that one sends after the hare]. Having regard to the complexity of the case, and its high-profile nature, the Attorney General assigned the case to a young but brilliant counsel who had shown potentials of being a star at the Bar. Isa Ayo Salami was called to the Bar on 28 June 1968 and had already earned his stripes as a litigator with several cases under his belt. The Attorney General could not have made a better choice. At the time of the case, Salami was a Senior State Counsel Grade II. However, before the case was finally disposed of, he had been elevated to the post of acting Solicitor General of North Central State. Salami later moved to the Bench and became Honourable Justice Isa Ayo Salami in 1978. Ten years later, His Lordship moved upstairs as a Justice of the Court of Appeal. Following in the footsteps of his mentor, Justice Mamman Nasir, His Lordship reached the peak of an eventful judicial career as the President of the Court of Appeal in 2009. But that was years after this case.
Salami studied the case file thoroughly. He came to the conclusion that without the body of Cordelia, the prosecution was not going to be a tea party. Even in cases where there was a body, prosecuting a homicide case is never a picnic, and now there was no physical body, to even start with. He knew that although it was going to be difficult prosecuting the case, he also knew that it was not impossible. He recalled that there were cases where the court had convicted the defendants even in the absence of a body.
He dug up the case of Segun Woghiren and Buraimoh Otokiti v. Queen which had been decided about ten years earlier. Like in the present case, the body of the victim was not found. Notwithstanding the absence of the body, the trial court found ‘prophet’ Woghiren and his accomplice guilty of the charge of the murder of Funmilayo Ose, a pregnant woman who was last seen with them. He also dug up the older case of the murder of Alfa Bisiriyu Apalara of Lagos whose body was never found. Salami was able to find other cases where the court had applied circumstantial evidence to convict the accused persons. He discussed his findings with the Attorney General. Mamman Nasir was happy that it was Salami that he assigned the matter to. The legal advice was comprehensive and in-depth. He agreed with the submission of his brilliant State Counsel.
The charge was promptly filed and Salami waited to see the court the matter would be assigned to. He was eager to set the ball rolling. That was when the story developed a new dimension. It was so bizarre that the most brilliant Nollywood script writer could not have imagined it not to talk of putting it down in writing. I hope you have not forgotten that Onigegewura told you about the rumour that Gaji belonged to an exclusive club. Well, as it turned out, Salami was checking the Registry of the court every day to find out when the matter would be coming up and which court it was assigned to. Every time he went to court, he was informed that the matter was yet to be assigned. Salami was not the only one who was concerned about the state of affair. Cordelia’s family and friends in Kaduna and Enugu were also worried about the non-assignment of the case.
What many people did not know was that all the judges in Kaduna at the time declined to try the case. Every time the case file was assigned to a judge, the next minute the case file would be returned to the Chief Registrar with a short note declining the case. This is what Iya Agba, Onigegewura’s grandmother, would describe as Ọba ránni niṣẹ́, Odò Ọbà kún, isẹ́ Ọba kò see kọ̀, Odò Ọbà kò se kó sí [on the way to deliver the king’s message, the Oba River -the only way to pass to deliver the message – has been flooded. One cannot return without delivering the king’s message, yet one cannot jump and swim across the Oba River].
Cordelia’s family became agitated. They were worried that perhaps this was a deliberate ploy by the powers that be to frustrate the case. Although they were not learned in law, they knew that a suspect could not be kept in a detention forever.
It was at this point that the dedicated prosecutor who was destined to become the future President of the Court of Appeal came up with another brilliant suggestion…
The Kaduna Mystery: Strange Tales of Midnight Mayhem
-Olanrewaju Onigegewura
Part III
…Salami informed the Attorney General about the development or lack of development in the case. It was indeed a strange situation. Without a judge, the suspect could not be tried. And without a trial, the suspect could not be acquitted or convicted as the case may be. And without a conviction or acquittal, the family of the victim would not get the deserved closure. Ìgbà òjò ńlọ, ìgbà ẹ̀rùn ńlọ, a níkí a di ihò eku ko le. Ìgbà wo ni a fẹ pa eku náà? [The rainy season passes, the dry season passes, and we keep on saying that the rat’s burrow be sealed tight; when will the rat ever be killed?]
It was at this point that Salami came up with another brilliant suggestion. Ordinarily, a judge’s jurisdiction is territorial, as you already know. Thus, a judge of one State could not preside in the court of another State. Well, what Salami was suggesting was to request for a judge of another State to come over to Kaduna to try the case.
The Attorney General must have looked at his State Counsel twice, wondering what had happened to the brilliant young man. But Salami was ready with his answers.
Onigegewura had told you in Awolowo, Akintola and Ooni’s case that every Region had its own constitution in those days. I hope you remember. Salami argued that under the Constitution of the Former Northern Nigeria as amended by the Constitution [Suspension and Modification] Decree of 1966, if a judge was unable to act, the Supreme Military Council was empowered to appoint another person as a judge to act in his stead. Mamman Nasir blinked twice and agreed that this was indeed the answer to their problem. He was glad once again that it was Salami that he had picked for the assignment.
He went to the Military Governor and explained the situation to him and the suggestion of Salami. The Governor also agreed that it was indeed the right thing to do. Promptly the Supreme Military Council was informed and in a matter of days, General Yakubu Gowon had issued the necessary order. By the Order dated 30 August 1973, the Head of the Federal Military Government appointed His Lordship Hon. Justice Jeffrey Jones who was Senior Puisne Judge of North-Western and Kano States to act as a Senior Puisne Judge of the High Court of North Central State for the purpose of the prosecution of Gaji’s case.
According to the Order signed by General Yakubu Gowon:
“…NOW, THEREFORE, THE SUPREME MILITARY COUNCIL, acting after consultation with the Advisory Judicial Committee, do hereby appoint MR. JEFFREY JONES, Senior Puisne Judge of North-Western and Kano States, to act as a Senior Puisne Judge of the High Court of North Central State with effect from 6th August, 1973 until the case The State v. Gaji is disposed of.”
That was how His Lordship Justice Jeffrey Jones came over to Kaduna. His Lordship was a graduate of the famous Keble College of the University of Oxford. He was called to Bar in 1954. He had practised as a lawyer in Zaria before being appointed a Magistrate in 1957 and was further elevated to the High Court Bench in 1961. He later served as the Chief Justice of Kano State between 1975 and 1980. His Lordship’s judicial career did not end in Nigeria. He moved to Kiribati where he retired as the President of the Court of Appeal.
The court was filled to the brim on 3 September 1973, the day the case came up before Justice Jones. Almost everyone in Kaduna found their way to the court. The lame requested to be carried, the blind asked to be led by the sighted, and the deaf even went to see what was going to unfold. It was a case the whole of the country was interested in.
Gaji the Law knew what was at stake. He had been practising law for more than two decades both on the Bench and at the Bar. He had also served as a Coroner at a point in his career. He was even called to the Bar before His Lordship. He knew that unlike when he was charged with kidnapping in the Magistrate Court, this time around, he was going to be charged with the king of heinous crimes, culpable homicide punishable with death. What was therefore at stake was not his name or professional reputation, it was his life that was at stake. Tí a bá ń gbàdúrà kí a má tẹ, tí a bá ti tẹ, àdúrà kii a máa kú ló kù [When you are praying not to be disgraced, once you have been disgraced, the next prayer is not to die in ignominy].
Although he could defend himself being a lawyer, he decided to go for one of the best legal experts in the country. As Iya Igba would say, Ọlọgbọn ò tẹ ara rę n’Ífá; omoràn ò fi ara re joyè; abẹ tó mú kò lè gbe èkù ara re [The wise person does not consult the Ifá oracle for himself; the knowledgeable person does not install himself as chief; the sharp knife does not carve its own handle]. His choice was no other than Chief Godfrey Kio Jaja Amachree of Grays Inn, popularly called GKJ, the first Kalabari to be called to the Bar.
Amachree was the Solicitor General of the Federation at independence. In recognition of his sterling performance at the Bar, he was appointed Her Majesty’s Counsel for Nigeria [Queen’s Counsel] on 28 September 1960 – some hours before Nigeria gained independence. In 1966, the Chief Justice of Nigeria appointed him Notary Public for Nigeria. GKJ had also served as United Nations Under-Secretary in charge of United Nations Civilian Operation in Congo. According to T. M. Mbu, Amachree “was … the first black African undersecretary of the United Nations”. It was this all-round legal practitioner that Gaji retained to defend him.
Hardly had the court settled down for the business of the day when the fireworks started. It was immediately apparent to everyone in court that this was not going to be just another criminal case. Gaji was in the court, but this time he was not seated at the Bar with his learned colleagues – his usual place. He was also not wearing his robe as a legal practitioner. Rather he was in the dock as the accused, wearing civilian clothes. Despite the travails of the past months, he still managed to cut the image of a successful counsel.
As was the norm, the Registrar read the charge to him. Gaji listened calmly as the solitary charge was read out in the open court. There was pin drop silence everywhere. The court directed the Registrar to ask him if he understood the charge preferred against him. Gaji did not speak but nodded to signify his understanding. He must have thought about the irony of fate. The same section 221 that he had used severally to defend his client was now what he was being charged with.
“Are you guilty or not guilty?”
The voice of the Registrar boomed out. Everyone in the court waited to hear what Gaji was going to say. Would he plead guilty? They waited. Justice Jones was waiting. The Senior State Counsel Grade II was waiting. It appeared that only two people in the court, Gaji and his counsel, were not waiting. The Registrar repeated the question. For all that Gaji cared, the Registrar could have been addressing the Staff of Oranmiyan in the ancient city of Ile-Ife. After several efforts to get Gaji to take his plea with nothing forthcoming, it was clear to His Lordship that it was not only the dead who stay dumb. Gaji was not going to open his mouth, at least for the time being. Finally, the Court ordered the defendant to take his plea. Gaji remained mute. The court looked at his Counsel wondering what was happening, the learned counsel looked back at the judge as if to say it was the prerogative of the man in the dock.
The judge was calm throughout. He opened the Criminal Procedure Code and flipped to the relevant section which he already knew by heart. It was Section 188. He read it and nodded. As a Magistrate before he became a Judge, he knew all the tricks in the book. He read out the provision to the hearing of the public.
His Lordship therefore entered a plea of ‘Not Guilty’ for the defendant.
The prosecutor then started the case. Salami had prepared for the case. He had assembled a stellar cast of seventeen witnesses to prove his case beyond reasonable doubt. His witnesses included Christopher Brown, Friday Igwegbu, Gladys Wey, Isaac Oshonoike, Nkem Ejiofor and Solomon Iyedoh. You remember that Onigegewura has told you that the first four were in Gaji’s house on that fateful day.
Salami had not spoken more than a few sentences when Chief Amachree raised an objection. In the best tradition of the Bar, Salami sat down to allow the former Solicitor General of the Federation to state his objection.
Gaji’s Counsel told the court: “We will challenge the statements of Gladys Wey, Friday Igwegbu, Solomon Iyedoh, Isaac Oshonoike; any statement made to the police by the accused, so State counsel should not refer to their evidence in his opening address.”
He was advised by the Court to keep his gunpowder dry and the case of the decade started to unfold.
Nkem was the first witness to be called. The young lady testified as to how they searched for her sister when she did not return home and how Gaji first denied seeing her but later admitted that she left his house immediately after Brown had left, a fact which was controverted by Brown.
Christopher Brown followed and he narrated what transpired that December evening and how he was summarily informed that his application for employment was not successful. He stated that on leaving Gaji’s house, he paid a visit to one of his brothers who lived in the same neighbourhood and that on his way back, he noticed that Gaji and Cordelia were on the veranda having heated argument, and that was the last time he ever saw Cordelia. He was cross-examined by Gaji’s counsel but his evidence that he left Cordelia alive in the house could not be shaken.
Salami was satisfied with Brown’s testimony. Although it did not establish the fact that Gaji murdered Cordelia, it showed that Gaji was one of the last people to see Cordelia alive. The onlookers who were not learned in law were wondering what was going on. But Salami knew he had a water tight case.
It was when Isaac Oshonoike entered the witness box that people observed that the defendant in the dock became uncomfortable…
The witness narrated how he was waiting for his wife who was coming to Kaduna by train and decided to pass the night in Gaji’s residence. He testified that immediately Christopher Brown left, he went back to his room to sleep. He was about to drift off into dreamland when a loud noise followed by a deafening scream jarred him awake. The shout was coming from Gaji whilst the scream of agony was from Cordelia.
Gaji was shouting: “Who gave him Fanta! Who gave him Fanta!” It was apparent that Gaji was referring to the bottle of soft drink Friday had offered Christopher Brown. The scream was getting louder and it was clear that someone was in pain. He ran out to see Gaji outside the house pummelling the young woman. Cordelia was sprawled out on the road. Gaji was kicking her as he was beating her. Oshonoike observed that the young teacher was having difficulty getting up on her own. He therefore rushed to assist her to stand up lest she was crushed by oncoming vehicle.
He was not the only one attracted by the scream coming from Cordelia. A neighbour of Gaji, Salihu Olohun- Iyo, a tailor also came out of his house when he heard the noise. He saw Gaji beating Cordelia and he also saw Oshonoike when he went to assist the lady. It was in his presence that Oshonoike carried Cordelia back to the veranda of the house.
Gaji was however not done. From the veranda, he dragged the young teacher by the legs into the sitting room. Now safely ensconced in his corner, Gaji began the second round of beating. He pounced on Cordelia the way a starved lion pounces on a star-crossed monkey. With all the fury he could muster, he battered away at the poor girl.
Oshonoike made efforts to restrain his friend but anger combined with whatever he had taken at the party he attended had made him a super power. Gaji turned to his friend and with the skill of a trained pugilist, he punched Oshonoike in his right eye. The P & T Territorial Controller was instantly soaked with blood. The now purblind Oshonoike had no choice than to stagger out of the house to try to treat his injured eye, after all bí iná bá jóni, tó jo ọmọ ẹni, tí ara ẹni la kọ́ gbọ̀n [when one is burnt alongside one’s child, common sense dictates that one takes care of oneself first].
Oshonoike first went to a nearby police station to report the incident but it was considered by the police a minor domestic dispute that did not warrant police presence. Perhaps if the police had listened to him and followed him that cold December evening…perhaps Onigegewura would not have been telling you this story. He was advised by the police to treat his bleeding wounds.
Oshonoike heeded the advice and went to look for a hospital where he was treated. It was after the treatment that he contacted another friend who followed him to Gaji’s house to retrieve his luggage. To their surprise, Gaji refused to release the luggage telling them that he was going to keep it as an exhibit. It was not until the following day that he was able to secure the luggage.
The following day, still smarting from the beating his friend gave him, Oshonoike reported the assault at the Central Police Station and at Sabon-Gari Police. Gaji was invited and he told the police that it was a domestic issue between friends and there was no need for police intervention.
Oshonoike concluded his testimony by informing the court that at the time he left the house, Cordelia was alive, although she had been battered and in pain.
You recall that there were five people in the house before Gaji’s return from the party he attended. Brown and Oshonoike had explained how they left the house, leaving Friday, Cordelia, Gladys Wey and Gaji. Cordelia had not been found. Her whereabouts could therefore be explained by only two people: Mrs. Wey and Gaji. The latter was in the dock, while the former was in the witness box.
And of course, there was Friday, the houseboy. Did Onigegewura tell you that Friday had abruptly absconded from Kaduna? Well, trust the diligent Nigeria Police, he was found in his village and brought back to Kaduna to testify at the trial.
If the testimonies of Brown and Oshonoike had dented the defence, the last straw that broke the back of Gaji’s camel was his client’s testimony…
The Kaduna Mystery: What Happened on Kakuri Road?
-Olanrewaju Onigegewura
Mrs Wey was the 6th witness to testify for the prosecution. She testified to the traumatic beating that Cordelia suffered in the hand of her lawyer. She stated that she was in her room when she was woken up by the noise of Cordelia. She ran to the living room to see Gaji kicking and beating the young lady. Oshonoike was trying to separate the senior lawyer from the poor girl. But when Oshonoike himself became a victim, he abandoned the warring couple to tend to his own wound. Friday, the houseboy, also fled and did not come back till the following morning.
But Mrs Wey, in addition to being a health practitioner was also a mother. According to her: “I am a mother. I could not leave the girl. I was defending her though he beat me too…Gaji did not allow me to hold the girl. He was pushing me and jamming the door of the dining room. The girl was now helpless and then unconscious because of the kicking.”
That was not all. She testified further:
“I came out from the room again. This girl was still like that in that condition. Then Gaji said: “Ah! Mrs Wey, I think I had better take her to the hospital.” The girl was so bad she could not get up. I helped Gaji get her into the car which was just outside the gate of the sitting room. I also entered the car and held the girl on the back seat. As we were going, Gaji said he was going to Kakuri hospital. As we were going, he stopped the car near a place with many lights and got out. When he came back, I said, ‘Gaji, this girl has died.’ He said ‘Haa’ and jumped inside the car and said, ‘Mrs. Wey, I will take you back home. I will take you back home.’ He turned the car, but we did not reach the house. He dropped me at Queen’s Club near Abuja Street. Then he turned the car full speed to where we had been coming. I found his house and sat in my room and slept.”
So where was Cordelia? According to Mrs. Wey, the following morning she asked him what he had done to the young teacher and Gaji told her: “I took her to Kakuri Road, ten miles away, and place the girl near the bush because then the people will report to their chief who will bury the corpse.”
The vivid and graphic pictures of the last moment of Cordelia’s life painted by Mrs Wey left an indelible image in the mind of everyone in court. And more was to come. Another of Gaji’s client, Solomon Iyedoh, a Chief Superintendent of Kaduna Prison, who Gaji was defending before his own travail testified. The houseboy, Friday, also testified. The men who found the body and the head were also brought to court to testify. You remember Gaji’s neighbour, the tailor? He was also brought to court to testify.
In addition, the police officers who investigated the matter testified and tendered statements which they said Gaji volunteered. Gaji however denied that the statements were not voluntarily made. According to him, he was tortured by the police.
The medical doctor who examined the skull found at the location on Kachia Road, Dr. Solomon Bankole also testified for the prosecution. He stated that the skull was that of a woman of between 18 and 25 years.
Witnesses after witnesses entered the box to give their testimony until all the seventeen witnesses had testified. Whilst it was clear to all that Gaji had something to do with the death of Cordelia, the unspoken question that hung in the air was: where is her body? It was expected that the answer to the riddle would be provided when Gaji opened his defence.
It was a trial like no other. Each of the witnesses presented by the prosecution was severely grilled by the defence counsel. Every document tendered by the prosecution was objected to by the Defence.
As the last of the seventeen witnesses stepped down from the box, the Attorney General, Mamman Nasir as the most senior prosecution counsel present in court stood up to inform the court that the State would be closing its case at that point. The court nodded and turned to Chief Amachree:
“Has the defence any witness other than the accused person or a witness to character only?”
The whole court was stunned when the defence informed the court that the defendant was not going to testify or call any witness. Justice Jones asked whether the defence was going to make a no-case submission to which the former Queen’s Counsel responded:
“No. I am not making a no-case submission, but we will rest our case on the prosecution’s evidence.”
His Lordship picked up his copy of the Criminal Procedure Code again and flipped to Section 236(1) which he proceeded to read out aloud. Of course, it was a provision that Gaji himself was familiar with. Justice Jones explained the import of the section to the defendant, his knowledge and familiarity with the law notwithstanding, after which Gaji spoke briefly:
“I do not wish to give evidence.”
To the people in court who had been waiting eagerly to hear Gaji’s version of the events, his refusal to testify or call witness was a sort of anti-climax. But that is the law. A defendant cannot be compelled to testify if he does not want to do so. It is one of the constitutional rights of an accused person. The prosecution has the entire burden to prove his guilt beyond reasonable doubt.
Following the decision of Gaji to rest his case on that of the prosecution, the judge called for the counsel to address the court. The future President of the Court of Appeal went first. Of course, you already know that where the defence calls no evidence, the prosecution addresses the court first, but where the defence calls evidence, the defence goes first. Mamman Nasir addressed the court and cited innumerable authorities to convince Justice Jones that the State had proved its case beyond reasonable doubt. Chief Amachree then addressed the court. The former Queen’s Counsel cited copious authorities to the effect that the Prosecution had not proved Cordelia’s death beyond reasonable doubt by its failure to present her body to the court.
The matter was then reserved for judgment.
Everyone in Kaduna waited with baited breath for the day of judgment to arrive. There was nothing else that was discussed by lawyers and non-lawyers alike save the Gaji’s case. Rumours and speculations went viral about the direction the pendulum was going to swing. It was speculated that members of the club the defendant allegedly belonged to had made arrangement to ensure that he was set free, more so that the body of Cordelia had not been found intact.
Finally, the day everyone had been waiting for arrived. The day of judgment in Gaji’s case. It was 5 October 1973, a Friday. The trial had taken exactly one month and two days.
There was no need to call for silence as His Lordship Justice Jones began to read his judgment. Everywhere was deathly quiet. The judge first underscored the peculiar challenge of the case when he stated that: “This is a case in which there is no corpus delicti. Cordelia has disappeared. Some human remains have been found which might or might not have been hers.”
The judge then went on to x-ray Mrs Gladys Wey’s evidence and stated that:
“The circumstances that she was brutally beaten up and that she is now nowhere to be found suggest strongly that she is dead. Mrs Wey said that she died in her arms. Mrs Wey has had experience in hospital of people dying. She is more able than most to know when a person is dead. It is significant that the accused’s actions which I shall shortly relate showed that he agreed with Mrs. Wey. There is no doubt in my mind that Mrs Wey was right and that Cordelia was dead. Thus, I have no doubt she died from the beating which the accused gave her. There is no evidence that Cordelia was ill or had any physical abnormality which could have caused her death apart from the beating.”
Having established the fact that Cordelia was dead and that Gaji was responsible for her death, His Lordship went on to examine what could turn out to be the game changer; the intention of Gaji. In other words, did Gaji intend to kill his lover? You may be wondering why this was important after all the court had found that Gaji had killed someone, what role has the intention got to do with the verdict again. Well, in criminal law, the mental element is of extreme importance.
If Gaji’s intention was to kill her, the offence would be culpable homicide punishable with death. If his intention was just to beat her and death was not intended, the offence would be culpable homicide not punishable with death.
After an extensive review of the facts, Justice Jones agreed with Chief Amachree that the prosecution had not proved the mental element beyond reasonable doubt.
Finally, the moment everyone had been waiting for had come.
Gaji was found guilty.
He was found guilty of the lesser offence of culpable homicide not punishable with death!
His counsel then spoke in mitigation of sentence, by way of allocutus. Before the sentence of court was passed on him, Gaji himself applied for leave to address the court. Justice Jones granted him the leave.
This time, unlike when he was asked to take his plea, the embattled counsel spoke out: “I thank the court for a fair trial. I ask for leniency.” He responded soberly.
The court therefore proceeded with the sentencing. According to the court: “This was a brutal killing and even though not intentional must be punished severely. No sign of remorse…”
He was sentenced to 12 years imprisonment for the death of his girlfriend, Cordelia Ego Ejiofor.
Gaji was naturally not pleased with the verdict. He filed an appeal in the Supreme Court to challenge the decision of the High Court on the same day. The State was also not pleased with the decision of the court to free Gaji on the charge of culpable homicide not punishable with death, and an appeal was also filed in this regard. However, for some technical reasons which shall not detain us here, the appeal by the State was not pursued.
At the Supreme Court, Gaji was represented again by Chief Amachree who led C. N. Okoli. The Attorney General Mamman Nasir and Ayo Salami (who had by now been promoted to the post of acting Solicitor General of the State) appeared for the State.
The appeal was heard by the trio of my Noble Lords George Baptist Ayodola Coker, JSC; Daniel Onwura IbekweJSC]; and Ayo Gabriel Irikefe, JSC. In a strange twist of fate, the judgment of the Supreme Court in the Gaji’s case was delivered by His Lordship Justice GBA Coker, the same judge who had earlier delivered judgment in the case of Adenekan v. Gladys Wey in which Gaji had appeared as the counsel to the respondent some months earlier.
The Supreme Court considered all the grounds of appeal filed by Gaji to challenge the decision of the trial court. Their Lordships were of the unanimous view that the appeal had no merit. On 23 May 1975, Gaji’s appeal was dismissed by the apex court and his conviction and sentence imposed on him by the High Court was affirmed.
With the dismissal of his appeal by the final court in the country, Gaji continued to serve his prison sentence.
Onigegewura knows what you are thinking. You are wondering what eventually happened to Gaji the Law? Well, that’s a story Onigegweura will tell you another day…
May the soul of Cordelia Ego Ejiofor continue to rest in peace…
Onigegewura’s task is done!
