Eleven years after he
was detained in prison while his trial was ongoing, 42-year-old Hamani Tijani,
allegedly notorious for cross-border robberies died yesterday at the Kirikiri
Maximum Prisons in Lagos after suffering partial stroke for nine months.
Hamani Tijani, a
popular name in the country's crime diary allegedly coordinated a syndicate
based in Cotonou, Benin Republic, to unleash terror on motorists in both
Nigeria and Benin Republic.
According to DSP Biyi
Jeje, the spokesman for the Nigerian Prisons Service, Lagos Command, Tijani
died at about 9am in the clinic of the maximum prison.
Jeje explained that
the service had earlier invited the state officials to examine Tijani's health
in December for possible transfer to another hospital, saying a team of medical
experts was sent to the prison by the Lagos State government before Christmas
to examine him.
He said though the
outcome of their findings was not made available, he was treated by the medical
team.
Jeje told journalists
that Tijani's corpse had been deposited at the mortuary in Ikeja General
Hospital pending further instructions from the appropriate authorities.
It would be recalled
that Tijani, a citizen of Niger Republic, was arrested sometime in September
2003 in Cotonou, Benin Republic, and moved to Abeokuta, Ogun State briefly
before he was transferred to Kirikiri.
It was gathered that
Tijani was standing trial before Justice Sybil Nwaka of Lagos High Court on a
three-count charge of conspiracy to commit armed robbery, armed robbery and
receiving stolen goods.
The defendant had
through his lawyer, J. H. Bashir, filed a "no case submission" and
asked the court to discharge and acquit him for lack of diligent prosecution.
His request was,
however, refused by Justice Nwaka in a ruling delivered on Oct 23, 2012.
When the matter came
up on Jan 14, 2013, the prosecution was not in court and the case was adjourned
till March 12, 2013.
Unfortunately, the
trial was stalled again on the adjourned date as the court did not sit and the
case was further adjourned till May 9.
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