An Ikeja Sexual Offences and Domestic Violence Court on Thursday sentenced two men to 15 years in prison each over the death of a 12-year-old housemaid they flogged.
The convicts, Edidiong Edem, 22, a painter, and Alex Effiong-Etim, 21, a mechanic, were convicted by Justice Abiola Soladoye after they entered a plea bargain on an amended charge of involuntary manslaughter.
In her ruling, Justice Soladoye found both men guilty and imposed a 15-year custodial sentence on each of them. The judge ordered that the prison terms should begin from the date they were first remanded in a correctional facility.
The court heard that the victim died after the convicts beat her with a broom.
Edem and Effiong-Etim were first arraigned on February 25, 2022, where they initially pleaded not guilty. However, they later reached a plea bargain agreement dated February 25, which resulted in the charge being amended to involuntary manslaughter.
During the proceedings, the prosecution counsel, Oluwaseun Adewoye, told the court that the incident happened in January 2022 at the Military Estate in the Eleko area of Lagos State.
Adewoye explained that the defendants flogged the girl on her legs with a broom, causing injuries that later became infected with tetanus and eventually led to her death.
He added that the offense violates Section 224 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015.
