Abel Leonard/ lafia
High court one, sitting in Lafia has sentenced a Mrs. Ijeoma Okoli a 47 year old of Shagari road in Nasarawa Local Government Area of Nasarawa State to death by hanging.
Chief judge of Nasarawa, justice suleiman Umar Diko while delivering judgement said mrs. Ijeoma Okoli who is a mother of three daughters was guilty of killing her husband, Innocent Okoli in 2013, which is said to be culpable homicide.
Justice Dikko cited section 221 of the penal code of Northern Nigeria applicable to Nasarawa state that the accused be sentenced to death by hanging.
He further averred that Ijeoma was convicted and sentenced to die by hanging based on the evidence before him.
However, Mrs. Ijeoma Okoli who had denied the allegations leveled against her saying she did not kill her husband but base on investigations and subsequent trials on the matter showed that Mrs. Okoli may have be connected to the killing of her husband,
According to court judgement and reports, circumstantial evidence, revealed that she was the killer, as she was the last person seen with him when the incident happened.
On her part, Justina Alkali Ally who represented the State Attorney General and Commissioner of Justice, Abdulkarim Kana speaking to Daybreak Nigeria on the issue appreciated the court for granting Justice to the deceased, adding that they are happy that the court made use of the law appropriately for Justice.
Counsel to the defendant, Marcus Abbu of Justice Advocates Abuja prayed the court to apply allocutus, and temper Justice with mercy, considering the fact that the accused Mrs. Ijeoma have children to care for, and the sentence commuted to life imprisonment.
