A 29-year-old man, Clement James, has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for beating his pregnant girlfriend, Gladys Gabriel, to death.
Justice Angela Otaluka of an FCT High Court in Apo delivered the judgment on Tuesday.
“I have considered the plea in mitigation by the learned counsel to the convict.
“The convict is a young man but I hope that after serving the jail term he will have more respect for women.
“Considering the fact that a pregnant woman is a ticking time boom that can explode at any time, engaging her in a fight is bad.
“The convict also has no prior criminal record. Having weighed all these factors, this sentence in these circumstances is one that achieves a noble goal of deterrence and reformation of the convict.
“After this sentence, I hope the defendant will have respect for women and this will also serve as deterrence to the society.
“I hereby sentence the convict to a term of ten years imprisonment with no option of fine from the period while he was undergoing trial inclusive,” Otaluka said.
Mr James, a resident of Sherriti Kabusa, Apo, FCT, pleaded not guilty on his arraignment on August 9, 2016, on a charge of culpable homicide.
The prosecutor, Kufreabasi Ebong, told the court that James beat his pregnant girlfriend and pushed her during an argument.
He said she died in the hospital on that day from the injuries she suffered during the beating.
The offence, Mr Ebong said, contravened the provisions of Sections 224 of the Penal Code Law.
