A 32-year-old carpenter, Onyekachi Agu, who was accused of pouring acid on his ex-girlfriend and his rival, was on Wednesday sentenced to seven years imprisonment by a Lagos State High Court sitting in Ikeja.
Justice Oyindamola Ogala handed down the jail term after finding Agu guilty of a count of causing grievous bodily harm to two persons, Aishat Adefarati and Mansur Ahmed in 2020.
Justice Ogala said Agu’s retraction of his confessional statement was an attempt to lie and escape punishment.
According to her, the convict failed to bring to court his brother, who he claimed to have been with on the day of the incident.
“The defendant tried to mislead the court by claiming to have been with his brother on the said day, but he failed to corroborate his evidence by giving the date and day he visited him.
“His ‘brother’, who he tried to use as an alibi, was nowhere to be found to give evidence before this court.
“Pouring a corrosive substance on the victims was never contradicted by the defendant”, she said.
Ogala said the convict caused damage to the victims.
“The testimony of the defendant’s former lover on how she had been harassed and assaulted by him later led to their separate ways after three years of relationship.
“In view of the evidence before the court, I hereby find the defendant guilty of the charge against him, and he is hereby sentenced to seven years jail term”, the judge said.
In his plea for mercy, the convict told the court he was sorry.
The prosecution presented four witnesses and tendered several pieces of evidence during the trial, while Mr Agu testified as a sole witness for the defence.
According to the prosecution, the carpenter committed the offence on 3rd July 2020, at Gangare Hotel, Mile 12, Lagos, where he traced the ex-girlfriend and her new lover.
The offence contravenes section 245 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015.
