A 29-year-old housewife, Onyinyechi Akunne, was on Monday in Lagos
sentenced to seven years imprisonment for stabbing to death her
35-year-old husband, Abuchi Akunne, with a kitchen knife during an
argument at home over lotto tickets known as “Baba Ijebu”.
An Ikeja High Court sentenced her following a plea bargain where the
initial charge of murder was changed to a charge of causing grievous
bodily harm to which she pled guilty.
Justice Josephine Oyefeso also rejected a clause in the plea bargain
agreement where it was proposed that the housewife should serve a
sentence of community service instead of a prison term.
“In view of the defendant’s pleading guilty, I hereby find her guilty of one-count charge of grievous bodily harm.
“I hereby sentence her to seven years in prison starting from the day
she remanded in prison custody which was March 28, 2015,” Oyefeso said.
Before the sentence was pronounced, Akunne’s counsel, P.O. Onu, in
her plea for mercy, told the court to temper justice with mercy.
“The defendant is a first-time offender, she is a mother of a toddler
which she gave birth to while in prison custody. Her daughter is a
year-and-seven months old, she still has a lot to offer to the society,”
Mrs. Onu said.
The judge ordered that the convict’s daughter after weaning her,
should be removed from the female prison and be kept in the custody of
the relations.
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that during Mrs. Akunne’s
arraignment on March 6, the State Prosecutor, C.K. Tuiyi-Carena, had
told the court that the accused committed the offence on March 28, 2015
at her residence located at No. 85, Idimu Road, Ejigbo, a suburb of
Lagos.
“On the day of the alleged murder, Onyinyechi was preparing a meal
while Abuchi was sitting on a chair in their home looking at his “Baba
Ijebu” lottery tickets.
“Angered by her husband’s action, Onyinyechi scolded him for his love for gambling and a fight ensued between them.
“She took the kitchen knife she was using to cut vegetables and stabbed her husband fatally in the chest.
“The stabbing inflicted a deep cut in Abuchi’s chest which led to excessive blood loss and his eventual death.
“The victim died before he could be taken to a hospital by Onyinyechi and concerned neighbours,” she said.
Mrs. Akunne was pregnant when the offence was committed and she gave
birth to a baby girl while in custody at the Kirikiri Female Prisons.
The toddler was in court with her mother for the sentence.
(NAN)
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