A 54-year-old man, Eseni Chima, was arraigned on Tuesday before the Abakaliki Chief Magistrate Court 3 over the alleged murder of his wife, Ugochukwu Chima. Chima faces a murder charge for allegedly causing his wife’s death in a violent domestic dispute.
The presiding Magistrate, Chinedu Agama, declined to take Chima’s plea, citing the court’s lack of jurisdiction over the case. Magistrate Agama ordered the police to forward the case file to the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) for a compliance report and adjourned the matter to December 31, 2024, for further proceedings.
During the court session, Prosecutor Emmanuel Monday, who is also a Senior State Counsel, outlined the gruesome details of the incident. According to Monday, the defendant allegedly committed the crime on September 4, 2024, at No. 60 Ogbaga Road, Kpirikpiri, in the Abakaliki Local Government Area of Ebonyi State.
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He stated that Chima inflicted fatal injuries on his wife by repeatedly beating her with two iron walking sticks and a wooden chair, targeting her back, waist, head, legs, and other parts of her body.
The charge, as presented by the prosecutor, falls under Section 319 (1) of the Criminal Code Law, Cap 33, Vol. 1, Laws of Ebonyi State, Nigeria, 2009, which prescribes severe penalties for murder.
Defense counsel Daniel Onuoha applied for bail for the accused, but the magistrate rejected the request, leaving Chima in custody pending further court hearings.