A 27-year-old woman, Blessing, was on Wednesday sentenced to 10 years in prison for stabbing Ebong, her 33-year-old fiance, to death during a fight over her refusal to wear an engagement ring he had given to her.
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that Blessing was originally charged with one count of murder. The sentence was, however, commuted to voluntary manslaughter by the trial judge, Justice Oluwatoyin Taiwo.
“By stabbing the deceased in the lower part of his abdomen, she did not intend to cause grievous harm to the defendant. The defendant has established factors necessary to prove self-defence.
“I find that the defendant acted in self-defence as she was a victim of an unprovoked assault. The defendant is not guilty of murder, but I find her guilty of the involuntary manslaughter of Ebong.
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“Section 227 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State prescribes life imprisonment for the offence of involuntary manslaughter. This is a clear case of recklessness on the part of both the deceased and the defendant.
“I hereby sentence the defendant to ten-years imprisonment with no option of fine. The sentence will take effect from the month of August 2015 which was when she has been in custody,” Justice Taiwo said.
The prosecution, led by Mr F. Oyedale had alleged that Blessing committed the offence at 12: 15 a.m. on August 18, 2015, at her residence in Lekki, Lagos.
NAN reports that Blessing’s trial commenced at the high court on July 5, 2017 with five witnesses including a sister to the deceased, a medical doctor and the Investigating Police Officer testifying for the prosecution.
Edet testified solely in her defence on February 7.
According to Blessing, the deceased came to her apartment at midnight and woke her up to request that she cook a meal for him, but she had refused because she was tired.
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“Upon hearing that I was tired, he went into the kitchen and saw the engagement ring he had given me beside the stove. He became angry and asked why I was not wearing the ring.
“He broke a mirror and used part of it to stab me, I was bleeding and I was crying out to the neighbours for help,” she said.
According to her, during the scuffle she stabbed Ebong in his abdomen with a kitchen knife.
Earlier, before the sentence was passed, the Defence Counsel, Ms Favour Eboh-Mgbehoma, in her allocutus (plea for mercy) had asked that the court temper justice with mercy.
(NAN)
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WOMAN BAGS 10 YEARS IN JAIL FOR STABBING FIANCE TO DEATH DURING FIGHT
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Labour Minister, Dr. Chris Ngige
Minimum Wage: Again, FG, Labour in closed-door meeting
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The Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr Chris Ngige, commenced dialogue with Labour Unions again in Abuja on Wednesday as time runs out on a deadline issued by Labour for the payment of a new wage approved for workers by the Federal Government.
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the meeting is the latest in a series of meetings with Labour leaders to commence the payment of the consequential adjustment in the new minimum wage, signed into law by President Muhammadu Buhari on April 18.
The leadership of the Nigeria Labour Congress, Trade Union Congress and the Joint National Public Service Negotiating Council are participating in the latest meeting with Ngige.
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On October 7, labour leaders issued a communiqué, warning that economic activities would be shut down on October 16, if the Federal Government failed to reconvene a meeting of the committee on consequential adjustments.
Speaking on Wednesday, the Secretary-General of the JNPSNC, Mr Alade Lawal, told a meeting of the Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria in Abuja that workers had started mobilising for a strike.
He said the partial implementation of the minimum wage for levels one to six was a ‘divide-and-rule’ system that would be vehemently opposed by labour.
“As far as I am concerned, nothing has been implemented. What are they implementing? We are negotiating something and somebody went behind to start issuing one circular.
“As far as we are concerned, nothing has been done and if you want to look at it, levels one to three has been outsourced.
How many people are there? So when you even look at the circular, it is full of errors. As far as we are concerned, no circular has been issued.
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“You have a salary structure, you have a ratio between the minimum and the maximum. When the minimum was 18,000, you have what you have at the maximum, then you have tilted the minimum to 30,000, are you going to leave the table there?
“It is distortion. You don’t allow distortion and it’s not allowed anywhere in the world. That is why you do consequential adjustment,’’ he argued.
Lawal pointed out that organised labour was not opposed to discussion or consultations.
He said that what was worrisome was the delay in reconvening the meeting of the committee on consequential adjustment.
“In the communiqué, issued last week by TUC, NLC and the Joint Council, we were asking the government to reconvene the committee and within one week, let the committee complete its assignment.
“As Labour, we are not averse to discussion, consultations or anything. But they are yet to reconvene the main meeting of the committee.
“What I am saying is that the minister is free to call us. We will go. We are hoping that maybe he wants to use it to talk to the two sides before reconvening the meeting.
“What I am saying is that you can’t sign an agreement in an informal meeting until you reconvene the meeting of the committee handling the negotiation on consequential adjustment.
(NAN
FG LABOUR IN CLOSED-DOOR MEETING MINIMUM WAGE: AGAIN
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