A Federal High Court sitting in Asokoro, Abuja, has sentenced 22-year-old Maryam Adewumi to 20 years imprisonment for the fatal stabbing of her boyfriend, 35-year-old Shallom Oliseh, according to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).

Adewumi, a cleaner, was initially charged with culpable homicide punishable by death. However, delivering judgment, Justice Njideka Nwosu-Iheme ruled that the prosecution successfully proved the lesser offence of culpable homicide not punishable by death.

“I find the defendant guilty of culpable homicide not punishable with death and convict her,” the judge declared.

Defence counsel, Williams Ataguba, pleaded for leniency, informing the court that the convict had no prior criminal record and is a mother of two children. He explained that the children had been under the care of the convict’s grandmother before her death, while both of Adewumi’s parents are also deceased.

Ataguba further urged the court to temper justice with mercy, noting that Adewumi had already spent more than two years in detention and expressing hope that she would rehabilitate herself if given another opportunity in life.

Justice Nwosu-Iheme, however, sentenced Adewumi to 20 years imprisonment, with the sentence taking effect from July 5, 2024 — the date of her arrest.

Earlier, prosecuting counsel Adama Musa told the court that Adewumi stabbed Oliseh in the chest with a knife during a physical altercation in Kurudu, Abuja, on July 5, 2024.

According to the prosecution, the injury inflicted on the deceased resulted in severe bodily harm that ultimately led to his death, adding that the defendant was aware her actions could have fatal consequences.

Musa stated that the offence contravened Sections 220(a) and (b) of the Penal Code and is punishable under Section 221.

In her defence, Adewumi told the court that she acted in self-defence and had no intention of killing Oliseh.