9-Day Old Baby and Mother killed in Ondo State
Mourning ensued amongst the residents of Aiyedun Quarters, in Akure South Local Council of Ondo State, following the tragic incident of the death of a nine-day-old baby and her 30-year-old mother. The mother, identified as Bose Sanusi who christened her baby on Tuesday, December 12, 2023, was in her house – a one-bedroom detached bungalow – together with her baby when an overhead water tank crashed into the building. However, the baby’s grandmother and elder brother narrowly escaped because they were in the kitchen, which was unaffected by the collapse. The lifeless bodies have since been evacuated and deposited at the mortuary, at the State Specialist Hospital. Confirming the incident, the Spokesperson for the State Police Command, Funmilayo Odunlami-Omisanya, said a 30-year-old mother and her daughter were killed in the incident. According to her, an investigation has begun to figure out the reason for the collapse of the overhead water tank. Correspondingly, a Niger State High Court in Minna presided over by Chief Judge Halima Abdulmalik, has sentenced one Stephen Jiya to death for setting his mother ablaze, resulting in her death. Delivering this verdict, in a case of culpable homicide against Jiya, the Judge found him guilty of the offence, punishable under Section 221 of the Penal Code which attracts the death penalty. Jiya was arraigned by the Office of the Attorney General of Niger State for setting Comfort Jiya, a retired Director in the Niger State Ministry of Education, ablaze, in December 2021. Jiya was arraigned before Justice Abdulmalik Halima on September 14, 2022, while hearings on the case commenced on November 23, 2022. Abdulmalik made known that all pointers indicating the convict was responsible for the crime were established by the prosecutor and that all the evidence, and prosecuting witnesses that testified were able to prove that the convict was culpable. The judge said: “The prosecutor has proved its case beyond reasonable doubt against the defendant, and I, hereby, find you, Stephen Jiya, guilty of the offence of culpable homicide, which is contrary to Section 221 of the Penal Code.” “In the circumstances, the sentence of the court upon you is that you should be hanged by the neck, electrocuted, executed, or injected with lethal injection until you are dead, and may the Lord have mercy on your soul.”
