Housewife Sentenced To 10 Years Imprisonment For Torturing 14-Year-Old Househelp To Death In Lagos

An Ikeja High Court, yesterday, sentenced a 27-year-old woman, Chiamaka Nnajiofor, to 10 years imprisonment for her culpability in the death of her housekeeper, Oliver Arakwe.

Justice Lateefat Okunnu convicted Nnajiofor for manslaughter instead of the charge of murder preferred against her. The sentence is to commence from September 22, 2011, when she was first arraigned.

Nnajiofor and her husband, Elochukwu, 41, were charged to court by the Lagos State Director of Public Prosecution, DPP, for murder.

According to the DPP, the couple tortured 14-year-old Arakwe to death on August 17, 2010 at 81, Femi Tella Street, Ago Palace, Okota, a Lagos suburb.

The couple had pleaded not guilty to the charge of murder.

Okunnu ruled: “There is nothing to show that he was part of the flogging his wife instigated that day, and available evidence indicated that he was not in the apartment when it happened.

“The prosecution also failed to prove the charge of murder against Chiamaka beyond reasonable doubts.

“Oliver was a severely malnourished boy and the beating of the boy with a belt would have had a lesser effect on a normal 14-year-old.

“It is on this basis that I find Chiamaka, the first defendant, not guilty of murder. I find her guilty of manslaughter. The second defendant, Elochukwu, is discharged and acquitted.”