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Romanus Okoye
Lagos State High Court sitting in Ikeja yesterday sentenced a technician, Rasak Abiona, to death for beating his 62-year-old father to death with an iron rod during a dispute over property.
Justice Oluwatoyin Taiwo who delivered the judgment in a virtual hearing held that the prosecution presented circumstantial evidence against the middle-aged defendant during the trial and proved its case beyond reasonable doubt.
The judge of the special offences section of the court noted that the technician’s confessional statements to the police implicated him and the defendant did not present witnesses in court to back his claim that his father died after a fall.
Rasak was found guilty of murder contrary to Section 221 of the Criminal Law of Lagos 2011.
“This is a very unfortunate and sad case where a son kills his father,” the judge said. “There is no doubt that by hitting the deceased with an iron rod on the head, the defendant intended to cause grievous bodily harm. The defendant could have easily overpowered his father, a 62-year-old man without hitting him on the head with an iron rod.
“This case is a clear indication of what anger and impatience can do in a man’s life. The court does not have a discretion to give a lesser punishment in a case of murder in view of Section 223 of the Criminal Law 2011. I hereby sentence the defendant to death for killing his father, Sunday Abiona. This is the sentence of the court,” the judge said.
