Carpenter beats son to death with belt

Thirty nine-year-old Emmanuel Edet has been arraigned before an Ebute Meta Magistrate’s court for allegedly beating his 12-year-old child, Samuel, to death.

Emmanuel was said to have beaten Samuel with a belt.

He was said to have been provoked after being told that his son, who he had asked to learn carpentry work, had not been showing up at the workshop.

Samuel’s boss was said to have reported to Emmanuel that his son was in the habit of going to swim at the beach.

It was learnt that around 10pm, the father in a bid to correct him, began lashing Samuel with the belt, while his pregnant mother reportedly locked the gate to prevent him from running away while the punishment lasted.

The police told the court that the boy fell down, hit his head against the floor and died before he could get medical attention.

A security man within the neighbourhood, who observed when the parents were carrying him into a van, alerted the police who then arrested the couple.

It was learnt that the six-month-old pregnant mother was released as the police said  she had no hand in the death of the child.

Emmanuel was arraigned on one count of murder which reads, “That you, Emmanuel Edet, on February 11, 2014, at about 10pm, at Atican Beach, Okun-Ajah, Lekki, Lagos, in the Lagos Magisterial District, did unlawfully kill one Samuel Edet, aged 12 years, by beating him with a belt which made him fall down and hit his head against the floor.”

The police prosecutor, Inspector Richard Odige, said the offence was punishable under Section 221 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, Nigeria, 2011.

The defendant’s plea was not taken.

Odige further applied that the defendant be remanded in prison pending legal advice from the Directorate of Public Prosecution.

He said, “We make the remand application to enable us get the original case file and the result of the autopsy test that will be used as evidence.”

The magistrate, Ms S.O Solebo, agreed to remand Emmanuel in prison pending the DPP’s advice.

The matter was adjourned till April 4, 2014.