By Onoriode Etatsemi.
AKWUKWU-IGBO/Nigeria: A Delta State High Court sitting in Akwukwu-Igbo and presided over by Justice Marcel Okoh has sentenced Obinna Eze to death by hanging for the brutal murder of a six-month-old baby, Chimaobi Igwe.
Eze was arraigned on a three-count charge of attempted murder, murder, and causing grievous bodily harm, punishable under Sections 320, 319, and 335 of the Criminal Code Laws of Delta State.
The prosecution, led by the State Solicitor-General and Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Justice, Mr. Omamuzo Erebe, supported by counsel J.A. Otite, Solomon Funkekeme Jnr, and M.C. Okafor, presented three witnesses and two exhibits to establish their case. The defendant, represented by P.C. Onubah Esq., testified in his own defense but called no additional witnesses.
Key testimony came from the baby’s mother, Mrs. Blessing Igwe, who recounted the events of October 27, 2023. She told the court that a disagreement with the defendant, her co-tenant at Talitha Street, off Okpanam Road, Asaba, escalated into violence over a missing phone. Eze attacked her with a cutlass, inflicting severe cuts on her and her infant son. Both were rushed to the hospital, but the baby succumbed to his injuries a week later.
Dr. Emmanuel Egbuduka, the pathologist who performed the autopsy, testified that the baby died from three deep penetrating injuries to the head caused by a sharp object.
In delivering judgment, Justice Okoh stated that the prosecution had proven its case beyond reasonable doubt. He cited the eyewitness testimony of Mrs. Igwe, the pathologist’s findings, and the defendant’s confessional statement made to the police as compelling evidence. The court rejected the defendant’s denial and retraction of his confession.
Justice Okoh convicted Eze of murder and sentenced him to death by hanging, bringing closure to a case that shocked the community.
