37-year-old man, Benjamin Toma was Thursday sentenced to death by hanging for allegedly
killing his wife, Vicky.
Toma was arraigned before a Plateau High Court sitting in Barkin-Ladi
on a one-count charge of culpable homicide, punishable with death,
under section 221 of the penal code.
The accused allegedly used an iron rod to kill the wife and also used
a rope to tie her neck before hanging her in the store to give the
impression that she killed herself.
He was said to have committed the crime on March 4, 2014 and was first arraigned on October 13, 2014.
A prosecution witness, Sgt. Sunday Abu, who investigated the case,
told Justice Samson Gang that Toma, in a confessional statement, had
said that on the said date (March 4), he demanded for s*x from his wife
at about 1 a.m.
The prosecutor submitted the confessional statement in court as
evidence saying, “He (Toma) further confessed that his wife refused to
grant his request, and declared that Vicky had persistently rejected
that demand for more than one year on the suspicion that he had
HIV/AIDS.
“Toma said that because of this wife’s allegation, he went to the
hospital and confirmed he had hepatitis and not HIV. He told
investigators that on that night, he struggled with his wife and later
used an iron rod to hit her.
“He said that when she fell, he left her there for two hours, and
later took her out of the room and used a rope to hang her in a bid to
conceal his action.
“Toma said he acted alone without any help and that even the children
were fast asleep and did not know what was happening,” the prosecutor
added.
The deceased’s mother, Sambo Ngo, also appeared as a prosecution witness in court.
Ngo said she heard people crying at her daughter’s matrimonial home
and branched over only to discover the body of her daughter hanging from
the roof.
According to her, she called her son, one Captain, who observed that
the table the accused claimed Vicky stood on, to commit the said
suicide, was very far from her, adding that some lacerations and wounds
on her, prompted him to invite the police as he (Captain) suspected foul
play.
In the first hearing, Toma was said to have pleaded not guilty to the
allegation of killing his wife, and claimed that she took her life by
hanging herself.
But at the second hearing yesterday, Toma promptly owned up.
In his ruling, Justice Gang, in a 68-paged judgment, pronounced Toma guilty of the crime.
Gang said, “Going by the findings of this court, you, Benjamin Toma,
mercilessly and in a calculative manner, took the life of your wife in
cold blood.
“You have not shown any remorse for your reprehensible act at the
time of the incident and throughout the entire trial. You were
exhibiting such character traits that seem to suggest your deep
conviction about the justness of your wicked and callous act.
“In all of this, your two children are the ultimate losers, but the
law shall nonetheless take its course; the offence for which you are
being charged, does not contemplate a plea in mitigation.
“The sentence of this court upon you is that you, Benjamin Toma, will be hanged until you are dead,” the judge ruled.

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