A 27-year-old mother of three from Abuja, Immaculate Chukwudi, has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for fatally stabbing her neighbour, Salamatu Yinusa. The FCT Commissioner of Police had charged Chukwudi with culpable homicide.
Delivering judgment at the FCT High Court, Justice Idris Mohammed found that Chukwudi’s actions directly led to Yinusa’s death. The judge referenced Section 225 of the Penal Code, which prescribes up to fourteen years’ imprisonment for causing death by an act intended to inflict hurt or grievous harm, even if not amounting to culpable homicide.
During the proceedings, Chukwudi’s defence counsel, O. Oluwakemi, pleaded for leniency, highlighting that Chukwudi had no prior criminal record and is a young mother whose three children rely on her. Oluwakemi argued that she is capable of rehabilitation and asked the court to temper justice with mercy.
Nonetheless, Justice Mohammed sentenced Chukwudi to 10 years’ imprisonment, with the sentence to be counted from her arraignment in May 2024.
Presenting the prosecution’s case, Counsel Adama Musa told the court that Chukwudi stabbed her 18-year-old neighbour, Yinusa, in the chest with a knife, causing severe injury that led to Yinusa’s death on March 12, 2024, in Kubwa, Abuja. Musa added that Chukwudi acted knowing that death was a probable consequence of her actions. The prosecution said the offence contravened Section 220 (a)(b) and is punishable under Section 221 of the Penal Code.
In her defence, Chukwudi stated that she was attacked by the deceased and her siblings—who were her friends—while preparing food for her son at home. She claimed she was beaten and acted in self-defence. Chukwudi pleaded for leniency, saying she had fallen ill in custody and required proper medical care. (NAN)
