Justice Kudirat Jose of an Ikeja High Court found both men guilty of the two counts of manslaughter and conspiracy to commit murder.
The sad incident happened on January 27 2015, at Love Garden hotel in Ikotun Egbe Lagos State.
In his testimony before the court, Marvelous recounted that the deceased came to the hotel where he worked as a bartender to purchase some items.
“He requested for a stick of cigarette which cost N50 and he gave me N500. I told him that there was no change and suggested that he should buy a bottle of beer which he obliged.
“I was dozing where I sat when the deceased roughly pushed me and demanded for his change. I told him to be patient. He followed me to the DJ’s booth where I had gone to change the music and shoved me angrily.
“We started fighting and my supervisor came downstairs to intervene. The deceased even broke one of the fans in the hotel. I thought the whole matter had ended but I was surprised when he returned with a long bamboo stick and hit me.
“It was while we were fighting that David and his friends; Friday and Waliu came and challenged him. It was Waliu that broke a bottle. I did not see when the deceased was stabbed. It was later that my supervisor called me that the deceased had been stabbed in the neck and that we should rush him to the hospital.
“We rushed him to a private hospital where they refused to treat him. He sadly died in front of the hospital. OPC members came and arrested me and handed me over to the police,” Marvelous said.
Also in his testimony, the second convict, David recollected that he was eating Indomie at the Bustop when one of the prostitutes in the hotel came to call him that the Barman was fighting.
“When I got there, the deceased was holding a big bamboo. We started struggling with him, and before I knew what was happening, Friday who is now at large had stabbed the deceased with a broken bottle,” he said.
In her judgement, Justice Jose found both men guilty of manslaughter and conspiracy and sentenced them to 20 years on the first count, and 5 years on the second count of conspiracy which would run from when they were remanded.
“It is obvious from the facts before me that the deceased was the aggressor, but nevertheless, a human life was lost.
“I hereby find both defendants guilty of manslaughter and conspiracy, and are hereby sentenced to 25 years,” she ruled.
In their plea for mercy, both convicts reminded the court that they were first offenders and were still useful to the society
and then