Justice Olubunmi Abike- Fadipe of the Ikeja Special Offences Court yesterday discharged and acquitted a 27-year-old Kogi State woman, Stella Peter, who stabbed her Niger State live-in partner, Bala Haruna, to death for refusing to finance their daughter’s one-year birthday party.
The judge held that based on the evidence before the court the defendant stabbed her late partner to death on self-defence as she did not intentionally kill him.
Peter was arraigned on March 20, 2020, on a one-count charge of murder and trial commenced in 2021.
The incident took place on September 17, 2019, at No 2, Tejuosho Avenue, Surulere, area of Lagos State.
Peter was accused of stabbing Haruna on his back with a kitchen knife.
According to the prosecution, the offence committed by the defendant contravened Section 223 of the criminal law of Lagos State 2015.
However, the defendant pleaded not guilty to the charge.
During trial, the prosecution led by J. Ogunde called two witnesses who testified against the defendant, while the defendant testified as the sole witness.
At the close of trial, the prosecution and the defence filed their final written addresses on February 22, 2023.
Delivering her judgment Justice Abike-Fadipe held that the prosecution was unable to prove its case that the defendant murdered the deceased intentionally.
She said the first prosecution witness testified that the body of the deceased was seen in the mortuary and that the supposed dead was stabbed in the back with a knife.
