Housewife jailed10 years for torturing 14-year-old housekeeper to death

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.”