Man to hang for killing son

A middle-aged man has been sentenced to death by hanging for killing his 11-year-old son who he accused of witchcraft.

Christopher Udoh was yesterday sentenced to death by an Akwa Ibom State High Court, in Ikot Ekpene. The convict, an indigene of Obot Akara LGA of the state, was said to have accused his son for his business failure, noting that his son used his witchcraft to ruin his business endeavours.

Delivering judgment, the presiding judge, Justice Joy Unwana, held that the convict was guilty of murder in accordance with Section 316 (1) of the Criminal Laws of Akwa Ibom State.

The court held that the convict, who had already admitted to committing the offence, deliberately killed Gabriel Udoh for allegedly being behind his many years of unsuccessful business pursuit in Benin City, Edo State.

In the course of the trial, Christopher told the court that he had struggled for many years for his business to grow but later discovered that his son, whom he suspected to be a witch, may be responsible for his business failure.

“After my inability to have a serious breakthrough in business, I discovered that my son could have been responsible. When I could no longer carry on with the business, I was stranded in Benin City. I had to return home with nothing.

“Every attempt for me to break even in life became too difficult, even to get married since his mother was no longer with me following years of hardship that she could not bear.

“For me to free myself of such spell, I had to kill him, burnt his body and dumped the remains in a pit.”

He pleaded for the court to be lenient and for God to be merciful on him as he was used by the devil.