A Lagos State High Court sitting in Ikeja has sentenced Justice Odey to death by hanging after convicting him of the murder of 35-year-old Benedict Agara.
The court found that Odey fatally stabbed Agara during a fight that reportedly stemmed from a dispute over a woman identified as Amina.
According to the prosecution, the incident occurred on April 3, 2021, at Block 33, Flat 102, Jakande Housing Estate, where Odey allegedly attacked the victim with a broken bottle, inflicting multiple stab wounds to his hand, stomach and other parts of his body. Agara later died from the injuries.
Delivering judgment in Suit No. LD/17040C/2021, Justice Modupe Nicol-Clay held that the prosecution proved the charge of murder beyond a reasonable doubt and sentenced the convict to death by hanging in accordance with the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015.
During the trial, the prosecution presented evidence through the investigating police officer and tendered several exhibits to support its case.
The judge ruled that the testimony of an investigating police officer is admissible evidence and rejected the defence’s argument that it amounted to hearsay.
Justice Nicol-Clay also held that although medical evidence is desirable in murder cases, it is not mandatory where there is sufficient evidence explaining the circumstances surrounding the victim’s death.
While noting there was no eyewitness to the fatal stabbing, the court relied on strong circumstantial evidence linking Odey to the crime and concluded that his actions directly caused the victim’s death.
The court, however, declined to rely on the defendant’s alleged confessional statement, ruling that it was inadmissible because it was neither video-recorded nor obtained in the presence of a legal practitioner.
