Christiana Odo, who was accused of stabbing her husband to death during a fight, has been discharged and acquitted on self-defence grounds.
Justice Yetunde Adesanya of a Lagos High Court sitting at Tarfa Balewa Square TBS discharged her of all allegations yesterday, December 13, 2021 based on evidence of self-defence established by the testimony of witnesses.
Odo was charged on June 13, 2018, with involuntary manslaughter contrary to Section 299 of the criminal law of Lagos, 2015.
During the arraignment, Lagos State prosecuting counsel Mr. Olayemi Shofolu told the court that Christiana Odo stabbed one Romanus Odo in the chest with a knife. He added that Odo committed the offence on December 25, 2016, at about 4 pm.
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In her ruling, the judge, however, cited a Supreme Court decision that stated the ingredients of self-defence.
According to her, in order to prove self-defense, the accused must have had no fault in causing the encounter and there must have been no safe or reasonable way to escape by retreat.
The judge said, “The evidence established at trial was that the defendant stabbed her husband during a fight started by the husband and in which he was said to be drunk and held a broken bottle and she held a knife with which she stabbed her husband resulting in his death.
“The prosecution has also proved that the action of the defendant was as a result of self-defence against the deceased who was holding a broken piece of the bottle to harm the defendant and the death was a consequence of self defence which went ugly”.
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“Having found the extrajudicial statement of the defendant, where she confessed to stabbing her husband during a fight whilst the deceased was holding a broken bottle is the truth of what really transpired.
“Also the evidence of the investigating police officer (IPO), who gathered that the parties had a very quarrelsome relationship which led to the Baale of the area giving them notice to quit. It was also proven that at the day of incident, the deceased was said to be drunk and armed himself with a broken bottle.
“The IPO testified that a broken bottle was recovered from the scene of the crime. On the totality of the foregoing, I must find and hold that the plea of self defence ensures in favour of the defendant and avails her of the offence of manslaughter.
“The defendant is hereby discharged and acquitted of the offence of manslaughter.
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