An
Ikeja High Court has sentenced a 51-year-old dockworker, Lekan Shonde, to death
by hanging for beating his 39-year-old wife, Ronke, to death at their Egbeda,
Lagos residence.
The
News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Justice Josephine Oyefeso found Lekan
guilty of murder in a two and a half hours judgment on Friday which was also
the International Women’s Day.
“This
is the sentence of the court upon you: That you should be hanged by the neck
until you are dead. May the Lord have mercy upon you,” Oyefeso said.
The
judge held that the prosecution proved its case beyond reasonable doubt in the
light of overwhelming evidence against Lekan.
“The
violence used by the defendant was in excess of a reasonable man.
“The
defendant was very economical with the truth, stating in his evidence before
the court that he only slapped his wife when he overheard her on a phone praising
the sexual prowess of a lover.
“This
does not match the degree of injuries indicated by the autopsy report,” she
said.
Ms
Oyefeso said that the report of a pathologist, Shokunle Shoyemi indicated that
there were old and fresh injuries on Ronke, a banker.
She
said that bruises on the deceased’s cheeks, blood collection in the brain,
brain swelling and other multiple injuries could not have been self-inflicted.
The
judge held that the sentence was in line with Section 223 of the Criminal Law
of Lagos State, 2015.
The
News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that, on hearing the sentence, Lekan
appeared perplexed as he alighted from the dock.
He
was immediately told to sit down for a while in the courtroom before he was
whisked away by a prison official.
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