Rivers court sentences domestic staff to death for murder of his boss

Wednesday, July 29, 2020 1:30 pm

Death by hanging (Justice(

A Rivers High court sitting in Port Harcourt has sentenced one Telema Amaso to death by hanging for strangulating his boss, Helen Ibiba Bobmanuel to death to death at her residence in the Woji area of Port Harcourt in 2013.

The accused was arrested alongside one Ndubuisi Chukwuemeka on 17 September 2013, shortly after the murder of Mrs Bobmanuel with the property of the deceased worth N5million, including a Hyundai Elantra saloon car, laptop and phones recovered from them.

They were subsequently arraigned on charges of murder, conspiracy to commit murder and stealing with Chukwuemeka as the second defendant.

But the court struck out the conspiracy to commit murder charge for the second defendant.

Amaso, who was convicted of murder, was employed as a domestic staff to late Mrs Bobmanuel and her late husband at the time he committed the crime.

Justice Silverline Iragunima in her judgment, said that the first and second defendants were convicted with overwhelming evidence before the court including the confessional statements made to the police which indicted them of committing the crime.

Justice Iragunima ruled that though the first defendant, Telema Amaso denied and retracted his confessional statement, he failed to convince the court that he did not commit the crime.

Justice Iragunima, while convicting the 2nd defendant, Ndubuisi Chukwuemeka for stealing, ruled that he did not convince the court enough to discharge him of the offence, after claiming he had no knowledge that the first defendant had committed such crime.

However, counsel to the two convicts, Chinedum Ugwu said he will seek the advice of Amaso on whether to appeal the judgment of the court.