Monday Effiong Philip, a 39-year-old bricklayer from Mbiakpan Atan village in Ibiono Ibom Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom state, is to spend his remaining years in jail, for deliberately torturing his father to death. over allegation that his father, Effiong Philip, 68, was behind his wife’s misfortune of not bearing children.
The Uyo, Akwa Ibom State Division of the High Court presided over by Justice Bassey Nkanang, has ruled.
In a one-count charge of murder preferred against the convict vs the state, the prosecution witness told the court that the convict “had on 27, May 2017, upon the complaints of his wife against her father-in-law, gave fist blows to the
deceased and pushed him, whereupon he was said to have fallen down.”
He stated further that “when a kind neighbour intervened and carried the father into the room, the convict locked up the door and returned the following day, with a patent medicine dealer, but could only find the remains of his already dead father.”
However, in about one-hour judgement, Justice Nkanang, held that “the invitation of a patent medicine dealer by the convict, was an indication that in spite of the unwarranted and unlawful assault on his father, he had no intention of causing his death, nor did he know that death would be the probable consequence of his action.”
He further held that “whereas it was the act of the accused person that resulted in the death of the deceased, the six circumstances provided in section 323 of the criminal code, laws of Akwa Ibom state, which identifies what constitutes murder, appears to be absent in the entire scenario of the case.”
Justice Nkanang held further that “the position of the court on the extent to which evidence at trial has established the three ingredients of murder, is that the deceased is death and the act of the accused person, is responsible for the death, and there is sufficient evidence to prove the third mandatory ingredient in a charge of murder.”
He explained that “the position of the law is that the particulars of the lesser offence must be capable of being subsumed in the original charge such that it is possible to carve out the lesser offence from the particulars of the original charge, which was murder,” submitting that; “it is this law that vests the trial court with powers to convict for a lesser offence where the ingredients of the said the lesser offence is contained in the aggravated charge, and are found proved.”
Therefore, the judge resolved the issue in favour of the prosecution and sentenced Effiong, to life imprisonment for manslaughter, and the convict, fighting back tears, begged for leniency, saying “I am the only son to my father”.
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