Court documents shared with PREMIUM TIMES on Saturday, show that the police accused Ms Adesanya of unlawfully administering abortion drugs that resulted in the corps member’s death.
Kehinde Adesanya, a 37-year-old nurse, charged charged in connection with the death of a 23-year-old National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) member, Ariyo Victoria Olapeju, will on Monday appear before a Magistrate’s Court in Isabo, Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital.
Court documents shared with PREMIUM TIMES on Saturday, show that the police in Ogun State accused Ms Adesanya of unlawfully administering abortion drugs that resulted in the corps member’s death.
This newspaper learnt that she first appeared before the court on 26 March and was subsequently remanded at the Ibara correctional facility in Abeokuta to await the legal advice of the Ogun State Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP).
Based on an application from the police, the court ordered her remand in cutody for an initial period of 60 days.
But by 26 May, when the 60 days period elpased, the DPP advice was not ready, prompting the court to further adjourn the matter until 26 June.
The scheduled 26 June proceedings also stalled because the DPP office had yet to issue the legal advice on the matter.
PREMIUM TIMES learnt that the DPP subsequently issued the anticipated legal advice which made the court to reschedule proceedings for today, Monday.
Lawyers’ Alert, a not-for profit organisation which has been monitoring the case, said in a statement shared with our correspondent that the DPP’s advice recommended the dropping of murder charge in the indictment against the nurse. PREMIUM TIMES yas yet to independently confirm the development.
With the DPP’s advice against the charge of murder, the nurse now faces the counts relating to abortion.
Ms Adesanya, who is expected to appear in court in Monday, remains in custody at the Ibara Custodial Centre in Abeokuta.
A decision will likely be taken on Monday if the trial should be conducted at the High Court, which has broader jurisdictions over complex and serious criminal allegations, or at the magistrate’s court.
An affidavit sworn by the investigating police officer, Ojo Aderemi, stated that the case began after a complaint was lodged with the police on 12 March.
According to the affidavit, the complaint was made by Okunade Adeyanju, who told investigators that he received a telephone call three days earlier from a woman identified as Ayanfe, said to be a friend of his stepsister, informing him that Ms Olapeju had become critically ill.
Police stated that the deceased, who was serving with the Ogun State Health Insurance Agency under the NYSC scheme, was subsequently taken to a private hospital in Adatan, Abeokuta, where doctors confirmed her dead.
Investigators alleged that Ms Olapeju died following what they described as a failed abortion.
The affidavit further alleged that Ms Adesanya attempted to terminate what police described as an ectopic pregnancy and that the procedure allegedly resulted in the corps member’s death.
According to the affidavit, investigators visited the scene, obtained statements from the complainant, witnesses and the suspect, collected documentary evidence and forwarded the duplicate case file to the Directorate of Public Prosecutions in the Ogun State Ministry of Justice for legal advice.
Based on the evidence before them, investigators told the court that they believed a prima facie case of murder had been established against the defendant.
The Ogun State Police Command initially filed four counts against Ms Adesanya, accusing her of conspiracy, unlawful abortion and murder.
The first count alleged that she and others still at large conspired between January and March to commit the offence of unlawful abortion, contrary to Section 616 of the Criminal Code Laws of Ogun State.
The second count accused her of unlawfully attempting to procure the abortion of Ms Olapeju by administering drugs, contrary to Section 230 of the Criminal Code.
The third count alleged that she conspired with others still at large to commit murder during the same period.
The fourth count accused her of unlawfully causing the death of the 23-year-old corps member by administering abortion drugs, an offence punishable under Section 319 of the Criminal Code.
In March, the police filed an ex parte application before the magistrate’s court in Abeokuta under Section 306 of the Administration of Criminal Justice and Other Related Matters Law of Ogun State, 2017, seeking an order to remand Ms Adesanya for 60 days to await DPP’s legal advice,
The application asked the court to authorise her detention at the Ibara Custodial Centre pending the DPP’s advice and her eventual arraignment before a court of competent jurisdiction.
In a written address supporting the application, police legal officer S.G. Babalola argued that the court had the statutory power to grant the request and urged the magistrate to do so in the interest of justice.
The police argued that the remand was necessary because of the seriousness of the allegations and the need to await the outcome of the DPP’s review before proceeding with the prosecution.
Lawyers’ Alert told our reporte that the Ogun State Director of Public Prosecutions reviewed the police investigation file and recommended that the murder allegation in the charges be dropped.
According to legal advice, the DPP recommended that the murder charge be discontinued, leaving only the abortion-related charges pending against Ms Adesanya.
The decision effectively narrowed the prosecution to the remaining abortion-related offences.
