‘I did not kill my wife’s debtor deliberately’

A 38-year-old man, Ibrahim Isah, who is standing trial on a murder charge, on Monday told an Ebute-Meta chief magistrate court that he killed a woman who was owing his wife due to provocation.

Isah is standing trail on a two-count charge of assault and murder.

The accused was said to have killed one Florence Obinali, 50, after the deceased came very late to pay his wife a sum of money she had owed her.

“I did not kill the deceased deliberately but in anger. She came to disturb our sleep over a debt she owed my wife. Rather than be brief, she went on and on and I did not know when I grabbed a plank with which I hit her,” he said.

The prosecutor, Inspector Jimah Iseghede, told the court that the late Obinali had had a disagreement with Isah at the latter’s residence, 15, Olaniyi Street, Julie Estate, Oregun, Lagos, over an undisclosed matter, which resulted in a physical fight between them.

Iseghede added that during the fight, Isah hit the woman on the head with a plank, causing her to slump.

“She was rushed to an undisclosed hospital where she was certified dead. The accused attempted to escape but was apprehended by neighbours,” he said.

The magistrate, Mrs A. Kusanu, directed that the case file be transferred to the Department of Public Prosecution for legal advice and ordered that the accused be remanded in prison.