Bauchi State Police Command has declared that it is doing everything possible to ensure that justice was served in the criminal case involving a former Commissioner in Bauchi State, Mohammed Damina.
Recall that there were reports that Damina who holds the revered traditional title of Galadiman Dass allegedly knocked down his friend, Adamu Babanta with his car and killed him in the process.
It would also be recalled that the deceased had accused Damina of trying to woo his teenage daughter, Khadija into a sexual relationship after Khadijat reported the former commissioner to her father.
The enraged father was then said to have hatched a plan with his daughter to “catch” Damina by asking her to meet up with the commissioner, but the confrontation ended in tragedy.
Giving an update on the matter, Bauchi State Police Commissioner, Sanda Mamman Umar, said that a preliminary investigation showed that the victim, Adamu Babanta, 68 years old, died as a result of a fatal motor accident.
He also said that the investigation showed that the deceased was not intentionally killed by Mohammed Damina as widely reported on social media.
The Commissioner further explained that Police preliminary investigation has revealed that Mohammed Damina did not intentionally kill Babanta saying that the suspect was only evading being mobbed after the deceased allegedly raised the alarm that he was a thief.
The CP also said that the deceased daughter’s and two other witnesses testified to the Police that the former Commissioner was only driving away in his car after being called a thief by the late Babanta.
According to him, “Following recent public narratives on the matter, it has become imperative to update members of the public on the Command’s Investigative findings and position regarding the case.
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“Our preliminary investigation revealed that on the 30th October 2022, at about 1930hrs, a case of fatal motor accident was reported at Yelwa Divisional Police Headquarters Bauchi, which was immediately transferred to the command’s central Motor Traffic Division (MTD) for a discreet investigation.
“Preliminary investigation revealed that the incident occurred at Yelwan Tudu market junction, Bauchi, involving a Honda Accord sedan motor vehicle, black in colour with REG. NO. DAS 688 AA was driven by one Muhammad Damina (Galadiman Dass) aged 68 years of Yelwan Makaranta, Bauchi who is the suspect and the victim one Adamu Babanta aged 65 years of the same address.
“Our findings also established that the accused (Mohammed Damina) is a neighbour to the deceased (Adamu Babanta) who called the daughter on phone and arranged to meet her at a junction near Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University (ATBU) gate Yelwan Tudu market Bauchi.
“The father of Khadija who is now deceased met them at that point, though not together inside the suspect’s vehicle or in any sort of compromised position, rather she was standing with the motorcycle rider that brought her to the location.
“Then her father, now deceased went straight to the occupant of the vehicle (Mohammed Damina) and both of them started exchanging heated words to a point where the father now deceased started shouting ‘barawo-barawo’ (thief-thief) as this was confirmed by an eyewitness; the daughter, her senior brother and the suspect. The repercussion of this is to attract mob action from bystanders and passersby.
“In the process, the accused attempted to start his vehicle in with the intention of zooming off and evading a public escalation of the situation including possible mob action, but the deceased suddenly opened the vehicle’s door from the driver’s side.
“Notwithstanding, the accused engaged his vehicle and accelerated while the father of Khadija now deceased was still clung to the car door. As a result, he was dragged to a certain distance, when he fell off thereby hitting his head on the pavement of the road with impact.
“The victim was rushed to ATBU Teaching Hospital Bauchi for treatment but was unfortunately confirmed dead by a medical doctor.
“The accused (Mohammed Damina) was therefore arrested and detained for investigation immediately. I immediately ordered an autopsy on the corpse to ascertain the cause of his death.
“The result was received on 08th November 2022 from ATBU Teaching Hospital Bauchi which shows that the victim died of traumatic spinal cord injury and multiple skeletal/soft tissue trauma.
“As we speak, the court has remanded the accused at the correctional facility and I directed that the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID) discreetly investigate accordingly to unravel the circumstances that led to the unfortunate incident.”
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