A 28 year-old housewife, Mary Attah has been condemned to death by
hanging by an Effurun High Court for stabbing her Pastor husband,
Darlington Attah, with a kitchen knife and setting him ablaze.
Prosecution from the Delta State Ministry of Justice had told the Court
that the accused who was married to Darlington Attah (now deceased) with
four children, on or about the 6th day of July, 2012 at Effurun within
the Effurun Judicial Division did attack her husband with a kitchen
knife and stabbed him in the neck as a result of an alleged phone call
from the husband’s lover.
The Court was further told that the accused was
infuriated by the telephone call at a time they were having a ‘nice
time’ which prompted her to rush to the kitchen, collected the knife and
armed herself with grounded pepper which she rubbed on her husband’s
face to immobilize him before stabbing him in the neck. Not satisfied,
she doused the husband who was already weak as a result of excessive
bleeding with fuel and set him ablaze.
He later gave up the ghost at the Warri Central Hospital where he was
rushed to where Medical Doctors efforts to save his life failed.
The Court sentenced the 28 years old mother of four to death having been
pronounced guilty of the one count charge proffered against her by the
Delta State Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice.
The offence is punishable under Section 319(1) of the Criminal Code Law,
Cap C21, Volume 1, Laws of Delta State of Nigeria, 2006. eJustice
Oritsjafor of the Effurun High Court while delivering the death verdict
held that prosecution led by an Assistant Director, Patrick Mekako was
able to prove beyond all reasonable doubt the essential ingredients of
the offence of murder against the accused person.
“I must also add that the evidence before this Court do not and cannot
support the plea of self defense in favour of the accused person. I
agree with the learned Assistant Director for the Prosecution that there
is just no possible defence to avail the accused person when she
stabbed her deceased husband in the neck with a knife and thereafter
doused him with fuel before she struck the match on him was to kill the
deceased or do him grievous bodily harm. The law is trite that a man
intends the natural consequences of his act.” Justice Oritsjafor held.
Continuing “from the evidence before this Court and in particular the
extrajudicial statement of the accused person, Exhibit A and the
evidence of PW1 and PW2 which corroborates and is consistent with the
facts contained in the said extrajudicial statement Exhibit A, I hold
that the prosecution proved beyond reasonable doubt that the accused
person murdered her deceased husband on or about the 6th day of July,
2012, and I find the accused person guilty of the murder of Darlington
Attah as charged.
Accused person is accordingly, hereby convicted of the offence of
murder. The sentence of this Court upon you, Mary Attah is death by
hanging by the neck till you be dead and may the Lord have mercy on your
soul.”
