Nigeria Abroad
Nigerian man who claimed to have acted in self-defense when he stabbed his friend during a fight that broke out last year inside a flat in Qawra in the northern region of Malta has been unanimously cleared by a trial jury.
Okolo Innocent Okwudili, a 39-year-old tiler stood accused of murdering his flatmate and fellow national Anoubi Joseph Ezechi, 37, shortly after midnight on March 15, 2020 over what appeared to be a trivial argument about groceries.
Okwudili took the witness stand at the trial recalling that episode when the victim had allegedly almost beat him to death, prompting his reaction to defend himself by stabbing his aggressor once with a knife.
However, that line of defence was rebutted by the prosecution who pointed out that the accused had only suffered slight injuries.
Moreover, he had only chosen to put forward this version when testifying for the first time before the jury, argued the prosecutor, prompting the defence to rebut that the accused could have chosen not to testify but had opted to do so since he had nothing to hide.
Read the full story in Nigeria Abroad