With Saliu Woru Mohammed
Continued from last Monday Edition
If a vigilante effects the arrest of suspect(s), having handed over such suspect(s) to the police is required to hand over together with any clue recovered so as to assist the police in its investigation. In the course of police investigation, you will be required to submit statement of account of the incidence to the investigator which the Investigating Police Officer (I.P.O.) must reduced to writing, read over to you in the language that you understand before appending your signature or thumb impression. The same to witness or witnesses (if any), you must take note of proper description of the exhibits handed over to the police; and to ensure that you render necessary assistance to the police to achieve a successful prosecution of the case in the court of law.
Let me quickly remind you that one of such important assistance is for you to be present in the court to give your evidence.
Let me assure you that a court is not a hell but a place where justice and fair-play is delivered to all manners of people, including a suspect on trial. While in the witness box, you will undergo three stages of examinations.
First stage is the “Examination-in-Chief” this is the stage where the prosecutor that calls you to testify will examine you and lead you in evidence, before giving evidence in court you will be required as a Muslim to swear with the Holy Qur’an stating that all evidence you will be giving before the court shall be the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. You may be referred to affirm. If however you decided either not to swear or affirm, the choice is yours and the court or the Prosecutor shall not compel you to do so; however less importance may be attached to the case by the court as “un-sworn evidence”.
The second stage is what can be referred to as a “Cross Examination”, which is usually conducted by the Defense Counsel to destroy your evidence, you must be extremely careful not to do anything that will destroy your evidence or annoy the Defense Counsel or the Trial Judge as experience has shown that good cases are lost in court through prosecution witnesses due to rigorous cross examination by the Defense Counsel. It may interest you to note that during cross examination, Defence Counsel are allowed to ask you many questions, unless otherwise rejected by the trial judge. It can be described as the most dangerous stage in a criminal trial. You are warned to be consistent and be truthful in your testimony while the trial lasts as a prosecution witness. You must also abide by the Prosecution’s directives and avoid ‘too know’ syndrome. Let me quickly add that to give false evidence or do anything that misleads the court can lead any witness into jail.
To be continued
