LAST UPDATE | 21 Feb

A 23-YEAR-OLD MAN accused of murdering Quham Babatunde during a mass street altercation in Dublin city centre was allegedly captured on CCTV stabbing him four times, a court has heard.

Babatunde, who was aged in his 30s, was fatally injured on Dublin’s South Anne Street in the early hours of Saturday.

Ryan Ndede, from Boroimhe Birches in Swords, Co Dublin, was remanded into custody after appearing before a judge at Belfast Magistrates’ Court on this morning. The court heard Ndede was arrested onboard a ferry from Belfast to Birkenhead on Sunday.

Legislation dating back to the Troubles allows the courts in Northern Ireland to prosecute offences committed in the Republic of Ireland.

No bail application was made during today’s hearing before deputy district judge Alan White and the accused was remanded in custody to appear before the court again on 21 March.

Ndede, dressed in a grey jumper, spoke briefly from the dock at the outset of the hearing to confirm he understood the charge facing him.

David McNeill, representing Northern Ireland’s Public Prosecution Service (PPS), told the judge that the murder had happened during a “group melee” on the street.

“The defendant can be seen on CCTV approaching the deceased with a knife concealed under his puffer jacket, which he produces and stabs him four times, once to the heart, which proves to be the fatal wound,” he said.

The prosecutor said CCTV then tracked Ndede moving through the streets, arriving in a rented apartment in the Dublin 8 area approximately 25 minutes later. He was no longer wearing a jacket at that stage, but was identifiable by other clothing, McNeill said.

The PPS lawyer said a knife was recovered at the apartment and forensic tests were being carried out to establish if it was the murder weapon. The prosecutor said Ndede had been identified on CCTV by two members of An Garda Síochána.

“He arrived by bus in Belfast on Sunday afternoon and boarded a ferry that evening to Birkenhead,” McNeill added. “The ferry was turned around and he was arrested on the ferry.”

Ndede’s defence solicitor Darragh Mackin, of Phoenix Law, said it was a “very sad case”.

“Nothing that I say will take away from the tragic loss of Mr Babatunde,” he said.

Mackin then asked several questions of a PSNI officer involved in the case. The solicitor put it to the detective constable that all forensic tests conducted to date, both in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, had come back negative.

The officer said that was correct.

Mackin also suggested there had been issues with the identification of his client, with one description of the attacker stating he was “tall and skinny”.

“That does not match Mr Ndede’s description,” he added.

The detective constable said there had been one description of the man with the knife being “tall and skinny” but she said that was one of “several different” descriptions being examined as part of the case.

Mackin then made a legal submission arguing that the case had been “improperly” brought under the terms of the relevant legislation. He argued that in order to institute the proceedings under the Criminal Jurisdiction Act 1975, the permission of Northern Ireland’s Advocate General was required.

The solicitor said the permission of the Advocate General, who is the Attorney General for England and Wales Richard Hermer, had not yet been secured.

“These proceedings have actually been improperly brought,” Mackin said. “This court has no jurisdiction until such times as the Advocate General has given his permission.”

In response, McNeill said permission to prosecute would originate from Northern Ireland’s Director of Public Prosecutions and that such permission was not required until the committal stage of court proceedings, not at the first appearance.

Deputy district judge White agreed with the prosecution’s interpretation of the law.

“The law has always been that in this sort of case, the consent is sufficient if it is lodged before the committal proceedings,” he said. “So I hold that I do have jurisdiction.”

Mackin said no bail application would be made at this stage of the proceedings as his client did not have a suitable address in Northern Ireland to reside in if bail was granted. The solicitor said an application would be made once an address was identified.

He also made an application to the court for legal aid for Ndede. Two other men arrested by gardaí have appeared before courts in Dublin in connection with the incident.