A Port Harcourt Magistrate Court has sentenced a 28-year-old man, Chigozie Ordu, to one year imprisonment for brutally assaulting two siblings with a machete, inflicting grievous bodily harm on them.
The convict was found guilty on a two-count charge of unlawfully assaulting Chinaza Victor and Samuel Victor. The incident occurred on January 4, 2022, at Jesus Avenue, off School Road, Igwuruta-Ali, in the Port Harcourt Magisterial District.
In her judgment, Chief Magistrate Illaye Brown held that the prosecution proved its case beyond reasonable doubt, dismissing Ordu’s claim of self-defence.
The magistrate ruled that the defendant failed to establish grave and sudden provocation, actual loss of self-control, or proportionate retaliation, adding that Ordu actually instigated the attack.
Chief Magistrate Brown further observed that the defendant showed no remorse throughout the trial.
She noted that while the complainants appeared in court with bandaged wounds from the machete cuts—one on Chinaza’s left hand and back, and the other on Samuel’s head—Ordu had no visible injuries to support his version of events.
The court 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 terms to run concurrently.
It was gathered that in 2022, the prosecuting counsel, Christian Njigwum, had secured a ₦1 million damages award against Ordu in a fundamental rights enforcement suit before Justice Ben Whyte of the Rivers State High Court. The amount remains unpaid.
Speaking to journalists after the judgment, Njigwum expressed satisfaction with the outcome, describing it as justice finally delivered to the two siblings who suffered the vicious attack.
