Murder accused used ‘unreasonable force’ with baseball bat

A jury has been told a man accused of murder who is claiming self-defence used “unreasonable and excessive” force when he hit another man over the head with a baseball bat on a busy street.

The prosecutor was giving his closing speech to the Central Criminal Court in the trial of a 39-year-old man.

The trial had heard of a fight in broad daylight between two men wielding baseball bats on October 10th, 2013 on Main Street, Swords, Co Dublin.

Jooda Akanbi (39) is charged with murdering 45-year-old Taiwo Jamani on November 13th, 2013 - the date of his death in hospital due to a traumatic brain injury.

Mr Akanbi, of Ashton Avenue, Applewood, Swords, has pleaded not guilty to murdering his fellow Nigerian.

Denis Vaughan Buckley SC, prosecuting, told the jury that self-defence could reduce murder to manslaughter or result in a verdict of not guilty.

“I suggest there will be sufficient evidence that the deceased was murdered,” he said, however.

“The accused makes the case of self-defence. There doesn’t seem to be much evidence that the deceased attacked him first,” he said.

“I think all the evidence suggests that the aggressor was the accused.”

He summarised some of the evidence of several people who witnessed the fight outside a bank at about 12.20pm that day.

‘Ludicrous’ suggestion

He described as “ludicrous” a suggestion by the accused made in a Garda station that Mr Jamani had caused the injury to himself.

The trial heard Mr Akanbi admitted hitting Mr Jamani over the head when gardaí approached him at the scene, and again in court. However, he denied it during Garda interviews.

“If you find the force was unreasonable and excessive, and we suggest it was, it would be open to you to bring in a verdict of murder,” he said.

“I submit there’s more than ample evidence on which you can come to a conclusion of guilty of murder or, at the very least, guilty of manslaughter,” he concluded.

The accused man’s barrister pointed out that the incident had happened “in a flash”.

Patrick Marrinan SC said it was beyond comprehension that this would happen on a busy main street.

He said the prosecution witnesses were, by and large, all at variance with each other on what happened, “a mish-mash of accounts from ordinary people, who get it wrong on occasions”.

“The kernel of the case is that Mr Jamani left where he was and went down the street after the accused,” he said. “The accused didn’t leave the position he was in and go towards Mr Jamani.”

He noted that one witness agreed it might have been the deceased who took the first bat out of his client’s car.

‘Forceful blow’

“The accused struck a forceful blow to the top of his head; he fell to the ground,” he said, noting the pathologist’s finding that there had been a single blow.

“You might say that he took another man’s life and he has to be done for something,” he said. “Be very careful about that.”

He noted that there had been history between the accused and the deceased, that the accused knew where the deceased lived and worked but never went there to attack him. He said his client had called gardaí on both occasions when he had come into contact with him.

“Having had a year or so to do something, he decides to teach Mr Jamani a lesson in broad daylight on Swords Main Street,” he said. “It doesn’t really fit.”

He said it might well have been his client who ended up being struck with a baseball bat that day.

‘Made suspect’

The jury earlier heard that the deceased was “made suspect” of credit card and computer fraud two years earlier but that he was never arrested and had no convictions.

The defence had called Garda Damien Rogers to the witness box.

He said he searched an apartment at The Bakery, George’s Hill, Balbriggan, Co Dublin on July 26th, 2011.

He said the deceased was one of three people present and gave his address as Dublin Street in the town.

However, the garda said all his possessions were at the premises and it was obvious he was living at the address. He said the deceased owned a computer business registered there, Data Links.

Garda Rogers said he made an entry in the Garda Pulse system: “All three should be made suspect of computer and credit card fraud, along with the premises itself.”

However, he said there was no prosecution of any of these people, and Mr Jamani had no convictions.

Under cross-examination by the prosecution, he agreed the prime target of the search was not there that day.

However, this man was later arrested for possession of credit cards ready to be cloned.

Mr Akanbi had testified that he had fallen out with the deceased after the deceased accused him of telling people about his allegedly fraudulent business.

The trial continues.