By Our Reporter
A Magistrate Court sitting in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, 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 of assaulting Chinaza Victor and Samuel Victor. The court found that he attacked Chinaza Victor with a machete, injuring 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 and dismissed the defendant’s claim of self-defence.
The magistrate ruled that Ordu failed to establish the legal requirements for self-defence, including grave and sudden provocation, reasonable loss of self-control, and proportionate response. The court further held that Ordu instigated the incident and showed no remorse throughout the trial.
She also rejected the claim that the complainants attacked the defendant first, noting that Ordu had no visible injuries, while the victims appeared in court with bandaged wounds during the proceedings.
The court sentenced Ordu to one year imprisonment on each count under Section 335 of the Criminal Code, Laws of Rivers State, with the sentences to run concurrently.
It was also recalled that in 2022, a Rivers State High Court had awarded ₦1 million in damages to the victims in a fundamental rights enforcement suit against Ordu, a sum that remains unpaid.