I Thought I Was Killing A Goat Not Knowing It's My Wife, ''63 Years Old Man Tells Court''
One Oluwatubosun Dahunsi, who is standing trial before an Akure Chief Magistrates’ Court, has said he didn’t know what came over him when he killed his wife, Oluwafunmilayo.
Oluwatubosun was arrested by the Ondo State Police Command for allegedly killing his wife at Ita-Ipele in the Owo Local Government Area of the state on October 6, 2019. The 63-year-old farmer was said to have cut his wife to death with a machete following a disagreement. The defendant, who was arraigned on one count of murder, however, pleaded not guilty to the charge. The charge read, “That you, Oluwatubosun Dahunsi, on October 5, 2019, around 6.30am at the Ita-Ipele Camp via Owo in the Ondo Magisterial District, unlawfully dealt machete blows on your wife, Oluwafunmilayo Dahunsi, on her two hands, head, stomach, neck and jaw, which led to her death, thereby committing an offence contrary to Section 316 and punishable under Section 319(1) of the Criminal Code, Cap. 37 Vol. 1, Laws of Ondo State of Nigeria, 2006. Oluwatubosun, who had no legal representation, told the court that he regained his sanity after he had committed the act, insisting that he killed his wife in error and begged the court for mercy. We had a quarrel over our children’s school fees. I never knew when I started cutting her with the machete. It was after she died that I realized what I had done. Please have mercy on me and help me beg my children,” he stated. Asked if the deceased did not cry for help during the assault and why he did not stop after the first machete blow, Oluwatubosun said, “She cried for help but at that point, her cry sounded like that of a goat. So, I thought I was actually killing a goat. It was after killing her that my eyes became clear and I ran away. I don’t understand how it all happened. Please have mercy on me.
The police prosecutor, Mr Suleiman Abdulateef, told the court that he had filed an application for the remand of the defendant in a correctional centre pending advice from the office of the Director of Public Prosecutions. Chief Magistrate Charity Adeyanju granted the prayer of the prosecutor and ordered the remand of the defendant in a correctional centre pending advice from the DPP. She adjourned the case till January 13, 2020.
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