A High Court in Delta State’s Akwukwu-Igbo Oshimili North Local Government Area has condemned Obinna Eze to death for the murder of Chimaobi Igwe, a six-month-old boy.
On Thursday, Justice Marcel Okoh presided over a court that convicted and sentenced Obinna Eze to death by hanging.
The defendant was charged before the court on a three-count accusation of attempted murder, murder, and causing grievous bodily harm, which are punishable under sections 320, 319, and 335 of Delta State’s Criminal Code Laws.
Mr. Omamuzo Erebe, the State Solicitor-General and Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Justice, headed the prosecution together with other counsel.
“In proof of its case, the prosecution called three witnesses and tendered two exhibits.
“We called PW1, Mrs. Blessing Igwe, the mother of the deceased baby. She told the court that on 27th October 2023, she had a disagreement over a missing phone belonging to the defendant.
“The defendant, who was her co-tenant at Talitha Street, off Okpanam Road, Asaba, attacked her with a cutlass and inflicted several cuts on her and on the head of her six-month-old baby.
“She told the court that she and her son were rushed to the hospital for treatment. The deceased, however, died a week later from the injuries inflicted on him.
“The PW2, Dr. Emmanuel Egbuduka, a pathologist who conducted an autopsy on the body of the deceased, told the court that the cause of death was as a result of three deep penetrating injuries to the head caused by a sharp object such as a cutlass,” the prosecutor said.
In addition, the defendant was led to testify in his defence by his counsel, P.C. Onubah, Esq., and no witnesses were summoned.
Justice Marcel Okoh ruled that the prosecution had proven its case beyond a reasonable doubt.
He said, “The eyewitness evidence of the deceased’s mother, PW1; the evidence of the pathologist, PW2; and the confessional statement of the defendant made to the investigating police officer all established the case of the prosecution beyond a reasonable doubt.
“The court rejected the defendant’s denial in his testimony before the court and his retraction of the confessional statement. The court then sentenced the defendant to death by hanging for the murder of Chimaobi Igwe.”
