An Ikeja Sexual Offences and Domestic Violence Court on Thursday sentenced two men to 15 years each for the fatal flogging of a 12-year-old housemaid in Lagos.
The convicts, 22-year-old painter Edidiong Edem and 21-year-old mechanic Alex Effiong-Etim, received the jail terms from Justice Abiola Soladoye after entering a plea bargain on an amended charge of involuntary manslaughter.
Justice Soladoye ordered that the prison terms begin from the date the accused were first taken into custody.
Court proceedings revealed that the girl was beaten on her legs with a broom by the men, causing injuries that became infected with tetanus and eventually led to her death.
The accused were first arraigned on February 25, 2022, pleading not guilty.
It was learnt that they later agreed to a plea bargain on the same day, which resulted in the charge being amended.
During the trial, the prosecution, led by Oluwaseun Adewoye, stated that the offence took place in January 2022 at Military Estate, Eleko, Lagos.
The prosecution added that the convicts’ actions amounted to reckless conduct that directly caused the minor’s death, in violation of Section 224 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015.
