By Ismail Auwal
A High Court sitting in Sagbama Judicial Division in Yenagoa, Bayelsa has sentenced a 21-year-old man, Timiondu Jepthah to 10 years’ imprisonment for manslaughter.
Jepthah was arrested in 2016 for raping a five-year-old girl to death and dumping her lifeless body into an abandoned fish pond.
The presiding judge, Justice E. G. Omukoro, in his ruling in the suit, SHC/4C/2016, found him guilty and declared that the murder charge preferred against the accused by the State Ministry of Justice, becomes manslaughter due to the inability of the prosecution to prove the alleged intent to commit murder.
The Acting Chairperson of the International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA), Ebimietei Ekeowei Ottah, described the ruling as a victory to the victims of rape, defilement and violence against women in the state.
She said: “It is a sound warning to the general public that it is no longer business as usual in Bayelsa State. Once you are brought before the law, the law will take its course and catch up with you.
“It has been a worrisome practice in Bayelsa State and more worrisome are the issue of negotiation with culprits by parents of victims of defilement or rape. It can no longer be tolerated or swept under the carpet as settlement.
“We call on parents, teachers, neighbours and guardians to be vigilant and speak out against cases of rape, defilement and violence against women in the state,” she concluded.
