An Ondo State High Court has sentenced a middle-aged man, Sunday Omoniyi, to death by hanging for stabbing his roommate to death during a brawl.

Omoniyi, who was arraigned on a one-count charge of murder, was accused of killing Michael Oyebanji during an altercation over the closure of a door.

The crime, according to police prosecutor Inspector Fisayo Oladepo, contravened Section 316 and is punishable under Section 319 of the Criminal Code, Cap 37, Vol. 1, Laws of Ondo State of Nigeria 2006.

According to the prosecution witness, Ismaila Adefaka, who informed the court that both the defendant and the deceased were his tenants at 4, Canaanland, Ijoka Road, Akure, the state capital, he disclosed that the incident occurred on July 23, 2022, at about 6:30 a.m.

While stating what happened when the incident occurred, Adefaka stressed that he rushed to the defendant’s apartment, where he met Omoniyi in a pool of blood following a stabbing by the defendant with a knife in his chest.

The landlord maintained that the deceased was confirmed dead after he was rushed to the hospital, a development that made him report the incident at the police station, which led to the arrest of Omoniyi.

Also, Adedugbe Opeyemi, Adedeji Gift, and Aremu Opeyemi, who were co-occupants with both the defendant and the deceased, told the court that the defendant and the deceased had earlier in the morning of the incident argued about the issue of the door, but it was resolved between them.

The witnesses revealed that they suddenly heard the deceased’s voice in pain and rushed back into the room, only to meet him on the floor in a pool of his blood and the defendant with a knife in his hand, stained with blood.

According to Adedugbe, the defendant confessed to having stabbed the deceased in retaliation for a fist blow on him by the late Oyebanji.

With the police prosecutor informing the court that Omoniyi confessed in a statement to have committed the offence, Justice W.R. Olamide, in his judgement, stated that the prosecution proved the case of murder against the defendant and subsequently sentenced the defendant to death by hanging.