The Enugu State High Court has found 32 year-old Olokie Chigozie Michael guilty of murdering his child and has sentenced him to death by hanging. In 2020, at the age of 28, he committed the offense and was arrested.
Hon. Justice C. C. Ani handed down her decision on the case on Wednesday, finding the accused guilty of murder and putting him to death by hanging.
The accused, Okolie Chigozie Michael, was found guilty by the court after it was established beyond a reasonable doubt that on April 14, 2020, in Emene, Enugu, he brought his son, Igwilo Chimereucheya, to a bush and strangled him.
The accused man allegedly used his fingers to scratch and hurt his kid, giving the impression that the youngster had been in a fight. The accused man then allegedly took the boy home, cleaned him up, and placed him on the bed, giving the impression that the boy was dozing off and trying to get away.
When the mother of the one-year-and-seven-month-old child realized her child was dead, she notified the neighbors and set up an alert.
The prosecuting attorney, Barr. Nkechi Ogbodo of the Department of Public Prosecution, Ministry of Justice, Enugu, presented evidence to the court throughout the trial, including an autopsy report that demonstrated the deceased’s actual cause of death—strangulation. The court agreed with Ogbodo’s arguments.
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It was discovered that the prisoner is a serial abuser who batters his son’s mother repeatedly.
It was also learned that he had been threatened repeatedly with killing the mother and her kid, forcing him to sign an undertaking at the police station at the request of their landlord and his wife’s work.
In her decision, Justice Ani stated that it was clear from the offender’s confession about how he killed the victim that it was a deliberate act performed voluntarily rather than under duress.
Because of his conviction for the crime under Section 274(1) of the Criminal Code, Cap 30, Vol. II, Revised Laws of Enugu State of Nigeria 2004, the court declared him guilty of murder and condemned him to death.
The mother of the kid is from Imezie Owa in the Ezeagu Local Government Area of Enugu State, whereas Okolie Chigozie Michael, the defendant in this case, is local to Ibeme Obingwa in Abia State.
