Lagos Resident Sentenced To 18 Years In Prison For Murder

A 32-year-old Lagos resident has been sentenced to 18 years in prison for stabbing a man.

The assailant identified as Saheed Sanni was said to have murdered the victim, Jide Felix in 2015 during an argument at Luth junction in Agege motor road, Mushin.

The accused had earlier pleaded not guilty to the crime during his first arraignment in January 2021.

He later pleaded guilty to one count of Involuntary manslaughter.

The prosecution counsel, Olayemi Shofolu revealed to the court that Sanni applied for a plea bargain to change his plea. The presiding judge, Justice Yetunde Adesanya confirmed if the plea bargain was true with the accused to which he replied in the affirmative.

The accused was later re-arraigned on the amended charge on October 4 2021.

The defence, K.F Balogun begged the court to render justice with mercy.

He said: “My lord, we are praying the court to temper justice with mercy. The defendant has since regretted his action; he is remorseful knowing the gravity of the offence. We sympathize with the family of the deceased. The defendant is a young man who has a lifetime ahead of him. He has lost his wife, father and mother while in prison.

The defendant is 32 years old. He considered a plea bargain for restoring his life after serving the prison term. What the defendant did was youthful exuberance.”

However, the presiding judge stated that the court was not bound by the bargain agreement and consequently sentenced the accused to 18 years imprisonment.