A middle-aged man, Sunday Omoniyi, has been sentenced to death by hanging for fatally stabbing his roommate, Michael Oyebanji, during a dispute over closing the door.
Mr Omoniyi faced a one-count murder charge before the Ondo State High Court in Akure.
His offense violated Section 316 and is punishable under Section 319 of the Criminal Code, Cap 37, Vol. 1, Laws of Ondo State, Nigeria, 2006.
One of the prosecution witnesses, Ismaila Adefaka, testified that both the defendant and the deceased were his tenants.
He recounted that the incident occurred on July 23, 2022, around 6:30 a.m. at 4, Canaanland, Ijoka Road in Akure.
He heard screaming and rushed to the defendant’s apartment, where he found the deceased lying in a pool of blood, and the defendant holding a blood-stained knife.
Mr Adefaka reported that the defendant had stabbed the deceased in the chest prior to his arrival. Following the incident, he lodged a formal complaint with the police after the deceased was confirmed dead at the hospital.
Other tenants, including Adedeji Gift, Adedugbe Opeyemi, and Aremu Opeyemi, corroborated that an argument over closing the door had erupted earlier but had been resolved.
However, they indicated that, after leaving the room, they heard the deceased’s voice and returned to find him on the floor, bleeding, with the defendant standing over him with a knife.
Adedugbe Opeyemi stated that the defendant admitted to stabbing the deceased in retaliation for being punched by Oyebanji.
Police prosecutor Inspector Fisayo Oladepo informed the court that Omoniyi confessed to the crime following his arrest.
In his judgment, Justice W.R. Olamide declared that the prosecution had successfully proven the murder charge against Omoniyi and subsequently sentenced him to death by hanging.
