Female lawyer bags 7 years imprisonment for manslaughter

Gbenro Adesina/Ibadan

The Chief Judge of Oyo State, Justice Muntar Abimbola has sentenced Yewande Oyediran, who stabbed her husband, Lowo Oyediran to death to seven years imprisonment.

Justice Abimbola who found the accused guilty of the death of her husband ruled that the jail term should commence from the day of her arrest for the crime.

In the judgement, the court noted that though none of the witnesses established that the accused intended to kill her husband or described seeing her committing the crime but evidences point to the fact that she was responsible for the death of her husband.

The court however added that the killing was done without intent, going by the fact that the couple was married at the time of the incident.

Mrs. Oyedira, is a lawyer with the Department of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Oyo State Ministry of Justice allegedly stabbed to death her late husband, Lowo, a France-based businessman on February 2, 2016 at their number 30, Adeniyi Layout, Abidi-Oodan, Akobo, Ibadan residence, following a misunderstanding that broke out late in the night.

Following the allegation, she was arraigned on a count charge of allegedly killing her husband with knife.

The offence is said to be contrary to Section 316 and punishable under section 319 of the laws of Oyo State.

The accused however pleaded not guilty to the charge when the charge was read to her in court.

Noting that the incident was a fall out of a spontaneous fight between the couple, the court said none of the witnesses was able to establish the case of intent in the incident that led to the injury that caused the death.

Justifying the reason for the sentence, the judge maintained that there was no need for a second attack on the deceased as given by the oral evidences of the witnesses.

According to the judge, the witnesses had told the court that there had been an initial attack where Yewande was said to have stabbed the late husband with scissors but that the matter was settled before the one that led to the death of the deceased couples of hours later.