After two years of legal battle, Justice Aishetu Mohammed of Minna High Court No. 4 in Niger State, has sentenced a 16-year-old house-help, Joy Afekafe, to life imprisonment for the murder of a lecturer with the Federal University of Technology, (FUT) Minna, Funmilayo Adefolalu.
Mohammed pronounced the sentence after finding the teenager guilty of the 2-count charges of armed robbery and culpable homicide, punishable under Sections 221 and 298 of the Penal Code.
Adefolalu was murdered on 28 October, 2023 at her residence in the Gbaiko area of Minna by the convict, Joy Afekafe, who had served as a housemaid to the late Adefolalu from 2 October 2023, barely 26 days after resumption of duty as a domestic staff.
Delivering the judgment, which lasted over two hours, Justice Mohammed said that the prosecution had established both charges against the defendant beyond reasonable doubt.
According to her, “On the whole and for all the reasons stated in this judgment, I hold that the prosecution was able to prove beyond reasonable doubt that Dr. Mrs. Funmilayo Sherifat Adefolalu is dead,” she ruled.
“That the death of Dr. Mrs. Funmilayo Sherifat Adefolalu was caused by the convict with her friends, now at large, when they used knives to stab her several times and eventually hit her with a wooden stool to kill her.”
Court records show that the convict was introduced to the household by a pastor, Ojo Peters of the Voice of Mercy Church, Minna, which both the deceased and Joy’s mother attended.
While staying at the residence, Joy reportedly began stealing property and foreign currencies, prompting the deceased to dismiss her from her role.
Following her dismissal, the underage girl enlisted the help of two friends, identified as DJ Wallex and DJ Smart, to retaliate.
In her statement to officers of the Homicide Squad, State Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department (SCIID), Niger State Police Command, the convict detailed how her accomplices, who remain at large, stabbed the deceased multiple times with knives.
As the victim tried to defend herself with a stool, they overpowered her, seized the stool, and struck her on the head, leading to her immediate death.
The attackers then stole two mobile phones, a laptop, and foreign currencies from her bedroom.
Editor: Ken Eseni
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