A Mararaba Upper Area Court, Nasarawa State, yesterday, sentenced a 36-year-old man, Benjamin Ogbeji, to one year imprisonment for beating up his wife and calling her a prostitute.
The presiding officer, Vincent Gwehemba, however, gave the convict an option to pay N8, 000 fines, and warned him not to lay his finger on his wife again.
“If your wife does anything that is provocative and you felt so bad about it, there are many ways you can handle the issue, but not by beating,” he said.
Ogbeji, a resident of Expo 1 Hotel, Mararaba, Nasarawa State, had pleaded guilty to a four-count charge of criminal force, intimidation, mischief and defamation of character. He urged the court to temper justice with mercy.
The prosecutor, Donald Herman, had told the court that on April 14, he was ordered by the court to bring to station the wife of the convict, Janet Ogbayi of Ado New Karu, Mararaba.
Herman said on April 16, at about 9 p.m., the convict who happened to be her husband, came to her rented house at Ado New Karu, Nasarawa State, beat her up and called her prostitute. He said that the convict after beating the complainant, damaged her fridge, television, TV stand, generating set, centre table, stabiliser and standing fan all valued N137,000.
