Justice Jaiteh Orders Police to Produce CCTV Evidence in Ass Malick Njie Rape Trial

Justice Ebrima Jaiteh of the High Court has ordered the Inspector General of Police to produce CCTV footage in the ongoing rape trial involving Ass Malick Njie, a former security officer at QCell Headquarters along Kairaba Avenue.

Njie is facing a serious charge of allegedly raping a 12-year-old boy. The alleged incident is said to have occurred on QCell’s premises while he was serving as a security guard.

Proceedings were halted at the High Court when the matter came up for the testimony of the second defence witness. Defence Counsel F.C. Anyanwu informed the court that efforts had been made to obtain CCTV footage from QCell Limited, believed to be relevant to the alleged crime scene.

Counsel Anyanwu referenced a letter dated February 24, 2026, from QCell’s Human Resource and Legal Affairs Manager, Omar Cham, confirming that police investigators had collected the CCTV footage at the time of the incident. The letter further indicated that the company did not retain any duplicate copies of the footage.

Relying on Section 221 of the Evidence Act, 1994, the defence applied for a court order compelling the police at the Latrikunda German Police Post to produce the footage. The provision empowers the court to summon any person or institution to produce materials considered relevant to a case.

State Counsel F. Drammeh opposed the application, arguing that there was no reference to such footage in the prosecution’s case file and that the request was therefore unnecessary.

In his ruling, Justice Jaiteh rejected the prosecution’s objection, underscoring the court’s obligation to ensure a fair trial. He noted that CCTV evidence constitutes “objective and contemporaneous evidence” that could either corroborate or challenge the claims before the court.

The court subsequently ordered the Inspector General of Police to direct the investigating officers to produce the CCTV footage on the next adjourned date. The judge further ruled that if the footage cannot be located, the investigating officer assigned to the case must appear before the court to explain its whereabouts under oath.

Justice Jaiteh also directed the Registrar of the Court to serve the order on the Inspector General of Police.

The case has been adjourned to May 5, 2026, at 10:00 a.m. for continuation of the defence’s case and to ensure compliance with the court’s directive.