45-year-old sentenced to 6 months imprisonment over assault on senior wife

Chief Magistrate O.A. Ojo of the Osun State Chief Magistrate Court sitting in Iwo, on Thursday sentenced a 45-year-old woman; Limota Oladimeji, to six months imprisonment without an option of fine, after being found guilty of allegations bordering on assault.

Limota was arraigned in April on a two-count charge of assaulting and inflicting injury on 30-year-old Khadijat Temitope, the senior wife of her 75-year-old husband, an Islamic cleric identified as Rafiu Oladimeji.

The count reads; “That you Limota Oladimeji ‘f’ on 01/03/2019 at about 6 am at Atari Cele Area, Iwo in the Iwo Magisterial District did assault one Khadijat Temitope ‘f’ with fist blow and thereby committed an offence contrary to a punishable under Section 351 of Criminal Code Cap 34 Vol. 11 Laws of Osun State Nigeria 2003.

“That you Limota Oladimeji ‘f’ on the same date, time and place in the aforementioned Magisterial District did assault and inflict injury on the body of Khadijat Temitope ‘f’ with hot water and hot yam and thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under Section 355 of the Criminal Code Cap 34 Vol 11, Laws of Osun State of Nigeria 2003.”

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She had pleaded not guilty to the charges and Magistrate Ojo had granted her bail with the sum of N200, 000 and two sureties in like sum with an order that the two sureties must be domiciled within the Magisterial District of the court and their addresses verified.

The court also ordered the sureties to depose to an affidavit of means, present a valid means of identification and two recent passport photographs.

In the course of the trial, the police prosecutor, Inspector Musa Raji led four witnesses the doctor that treated Khadijat when the assault took place, in evidence before closing his case.

The defence in its statement filed through their counsel, Chief Laide Yekeen, had alleged that Khadijat and the defendant were fighting when she fell on the hot water and no one poured hot water on her, denying all allegations.

The police had conducted an investigation into the matter following a petition written by a non-governmental organisation known as the Mediation Conciliation and Human Rights Center, to the police Area Commander in Iwo which led to the arrest and arraignment of the defendant.

After the trial, Magistrate Ojo found her guilty of all the charges and sentenced Limota to six months imprisonment without an option of fine.