A Magistrate Court sitting in Port Harcourt has sentenced a 28-year-old man, Chigozie Ordu, to one year imprisonment for unlawfully assaulting two siblings and causing them grievous bodily harm.
Ordu was convicted on a two-count charge bordering on unlawful assault of Chinaza Victor and Samuel Victor. The court found that the defendant attacked Chinaza Victor with a machete, inflicting injuries on her left hand and back, and also assaulted Samuel Victor, cutting him on the head. The incident occurred on January 4, 2022, at Jesus Avenue, off School Road, Igwuruta-Ali, within the Port Harcourt Magisterial District.
Delivering judgment, Chief Magistrate Illaye Brown held that the prosecution proved its case beyond reasonable doubt. The court dismissed the defendant’s plea of self-defence, ruling that it failed to meet the legal requirements.
According to the magistrate, for self-defence to avail a defendant, there must be proof of grave and sudden provocation, actual and reasonable loss of self-control, and proportionate retaliation. The court held that Ordu instigated the incident and failed to establish any of these elements.
Chief Magistrate Brown further noted that the defendant showed no remorse throughout the trial. She also rejected the claim that the complainants attacked the defendant first, observing that Ordu had no visible injuries, while the complainants appeared in court with bandaged wounds during the proceedings.
The court consequently sentenced Ordu to one year imprisonment on each count under Section 335 of the Criminal Code, Cap 37, Vol. II, Laws of Rivers State of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended), with the sentences to run concurrently.
It was also recalled that in 2022, the prosecuting counsel, Christian Njigwum, had filed a fundamental rights enforcement suit against the defendant before Justice Ben Whyte of the Rivers State High Court. The court ruled in favour of the complainants and awarded damages of ₦1 million against the defendant, which remains unpaid.
Speaking to journalists after the judgment, Njigwum expressed satisfaction with the outcome, thanking the court for what he described as justice delivered to the two siblings.
He commended the court for agreeing that the prosecution proved its case beyond reasonable doubt and imposing a custodial sentence, noting that allowing the convict to remain at large would pose a threat to public safety.
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