A Bayelsa State High Court, Sagbama Judicial Division sitting in Yenagoa, has sentenced a 21-year-old man, Timiondu Jepthah to 10 years imprisonment for manslaughter.
Jepthah was found guilty of raping to death a five-year- old girl in 2016 at Akede Community of Sagbama Local Government Area of the state.
The presiding judge, Justice E. G. Omukoro, in his ruling in the suit, SHC/4C/2016, declared that the murder charge preferred against the accused by the State Ministry of Justice, becomes manslaughter due to the inability of the prosecution to prove the alleged intent to commit murder.
Justice Omukoro, after considering the defendant’s plea of allocutus, declared that the court is mindful of the youthful age of the defendant who could be redeemed and make amends by way of atonement for his action, and ordered that “the defendant be detained at the Okaka Correctional Centre in Yenagoa or elsewhere as the governor may determine for a period of 10 years.”
It would be recalled that in 2016, the accused, who was aged 16 years, was arrested for raping to death a five year- old girl and dumping her lifeless body into an abandoned fish pond close to his residence.
A private legal practitioner, Deme Bebra Pamosoo Esq, who acted as counsel to the victim’s parents ensured that the victim’s body was recovered, autopsy conducted by the police and a case file presented to the State Ministry of Justice for the Director of Public Prosecution’s recommendation for trial.
Reacting to the development, the Acting Chairperson of the International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA), Ebimietei Ekeowei Ottah, described the ruling as a victory to the victims of rape, defilement and violence against women in the state.
She said: “It is a sound warning to the general public that it is no longer business as usual in Bayelsa State. Once you are brought before the law, the law will take its course and catch up with you.
“It has been a worrisome practice in Bayelsa State and more worrisome are the issue of negotiation with culprits by parents of victims of defilement or rape. It can no longer be tolerated or swept under the carpet as settlement.
“We call on parents, teachers, neighbours and guardians to be vigilant and speak out against cases of rape, defilement and violence against women in the state.”
