A Lagos-based man, Daniel Gajo, is to spend 24 years in prison for murdering his wife Esther, 24.
Justice Yetunde Adesanya of the Lagos State High Court sitting at the Tafawa Balewa Square pronounced the judgement on Thursday .
The man was jailed for involuntary manslaughter.
The prosecution said the act was contrary to Section 227 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015.
The prosecutor Olayemi Shofolu told Justice Adesanya on Thursday that the defendant pleaded guilty to the charge.
Gajo submitted the plea bargain and sentencing agreement signed by the defence counsel and urged the court to grant the 17 years’ jail term as recommended in the agreement.
Both the defence counsel, S.N. Nwodo, and Gajo confirmed the arrangement under oath with the prosecution and told the court that he was not compelled to change his plea for a reduced sentence.
The amended charge was read and he pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter contrary to Section 227 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015.
However, Justice Adesanya rejected the plea bargain due to the severity of the crime, saying Gajo killed his wife in her mother’s home.
She said “I am not bound by the sentencing agreement and can decide to increase the years. No one has the right to take another person’s life,” adding that the recommended sentence was not commensurate to the crime committed by the defendant.
Justice Adesanya said the crime was “unprovoked and premeditated.”
Adesanya said, “I have taken into account the statements of the parties. I also recognise that the court is not bound to accept the sentencing agreement. In view of this, I hereby convict you, Daniel Gajo, as charged. Having regard to all considerations, this court rejects the 17 years sentencing agreement. I hereby sentence you, Daniel Gajo, to 21 years in prison starting from the day of your remand, June 13, 2013.”
Judgements premised on plea bargain agreements have resulted in controversies in the country’s legal system.
In September 2021, Justice Oluwatoyin Taiwo of the Ikeja Special Offences Court also sentenced a 23-year-old chef, Joshua Usulor, to 28 years’ imprisonment for killing a 34-year-old lawyer, Mrs Feyisayo Obot, in a hotel room in Lagos on January 26, 2019.
Usulor had entered a plea bargain agreement with the prosecution and a 21-year sentence was recommended.
However, the judge rejected the agreement, saying it was too lenient and sentenced the convict to 28 years in prison.
