An Abia State High Court has
sentenced a banker, Mr. Theophilus Ajakaiye, to death by hanging for killing
his wife, Theodora.
The convict allegedly
murdered his wife on October 12, 2009 at Azumini Ndoki in the Ukwa Judicial
Division of Abia.
The charge read, “The
accused person is charged with one-count of murder contrary to Section 319 (1)
of the Criminal Code Vol. 11, Cap. 30 Laws of Eastern Nigeria, 1963, applicable
in Abia State.”
Until her death, Theodora
was an employee of Guaranty Trust Bank Plc.
The legal battle between the
deceased’s family and the accused began soon after the alleged killing until
the judgment recently.
The Presiding Judge, Justice
T.U. Uzokwe, said in his judgment that having heard from the accused person,
learned counsel for the accused and the prosecuting counsel, the offence
carried a mandatory sentence which is death.
He said the court had no
power to reduce the sentence and that being the case, he had no option but to
sentence the accused.
The judge said, “Though the
accused was not seen killing the deceased, I find that the accumulated
circumstantial facts found proved that the accused indeed murdered his wife,
Theodora Ajakaiye.
“Suffice it to say that I
find the accused guilty as charged and I convict him accordingly.”
The sentence read,
“Theophilus Ajakaiye – The sentence of this court upon you is that you be
hanged by the neck until you be dead and may the merciful Lord have mercy on
your soul.”
In the allocutus, counsel
for the accused pleaded for mercy on behalf of his client.
He said, “I thank the court
for this well considered judgment. The accused has no criminal record. We plead
for mercy. There are two children to the marriage and they have already lost
their mother.”
It was learnt that the convict
had yet to appeal against the judgment
No comments:
Post a Comment