By Tejiri Peter

The High Court of Justice of Delta State, sitting in the Abraka Judicial Division, has convicted Abraham Jepondy on charges of attempted murder, rape, and abduction, sentencing him to life imprisonment after finding that the prosecution proved its case beyond reasonable doubt.

Delivering judgment on Thursday, April 30, 2026, Hon. Justice Samuel I. Okeleke h eld that the prosecution successfully established the three offences through the direct evidence of the victim, corroborative medical evidence, circumstantial evidence, and the defendant’s extra-judicial statements.

Abraham Jepondy was arraigned before the court on a three-count charge filed on June 22, 2021, alleging that between January 1 and January 5, 2021, in Abraka, he attempted to murder Blessing Ineh by cutting her neck with a razor blade and a knife and stabbing her multiple times. He was also charged with rape for allegedly having unlawful sexual intercourse with the victim without her consent and with abduction for unlawfully taking and detaining her.

The charges were read and explained to the defendant on November 2, 2023, and he pleaded not guilty to all three counts, leading to a full trial.

The prosecution, led by Assistant Director in the Delta State Ministry of Justice, Mrs. A.N. Ukubeyinje-Mallarah, called five witnesses in support of its case. During the proceedings, the prosecution tendered 13 exhibits, including extra-judicial statements by witnesses and the defendant, blood-stained clothing recovered during the investigation, medical reports, photographs of the victim, a Certificate of Identification under Section 84 of the Evidence Act, and other police documents.

The defendant testified in his own defence and called one additional witness. No exhibit was tendered by the defence.

In reviewing the evidence, Justice Okeleke stated that the burden rested entirely on the prosecution to establish every element of the offences beyond reasonable doubt, in line with Section 135(1) of the Evidence Act, adding that the burden never shifted to the defendant.

The court held that proof beyond reasonable doubt may be established through direct eyewitness evidence, a voluntary confessional statement, or compelling circumstantial evidence.

The court first examined the testimony of PW1, Rachael Ineh, the victim’s mother, who said that on January 1, 2021, she sent her daughter to buy mosquito coils, but the child never returned home. After an unsuccessful search, she reported the matter to the police as a missing person case.

According to her testimony, on January 5, 2021, she received information from a boy identified as Miracle that someone was crying for help from inside a soak-away pit. She rushed to the scene, where her daughter was rescued with a deep cut on her neck, a stab wound on her back, white native chalk on her body, and a foul smell.

PW1 further testified that while the victim was being taken to Catholic Hospital, Abbi, the child identified Abraham Jepondy as the person responsible for abducting and attacking her.

The court also considered the testimony of PW2, Blessing Ineh, who was 13 years old when she testified. After satisfying itself that she possessed sufficient intelligence to testify, the court heard her account of the incident.

The victim testified that while running an errand to buy mosquito coils on January 1, 2021, the defendant asked her to help him buy sachet water and promised to give her ₦500 if she first handed over the ₦200 she was carrying. She said she followed him into a room, where he attacked her, inflicted injuries on her neck and back with sharp objects, gagged her, tied her hands and legs, and prevented her from escaping.

She further told the court that the defendant repeatedly raped her over five days against her will. According to her testimony, whenever she begged for water, he forced her to drink shampoo and chemicals used to treat wood against termites. She also testified that he rubbed white native chalk on her body and told her he intended to use her blood for ritual purposes.

The victim further narrated that after several days in captivity, the defendant blindfolded her, carried her to a soak-away pit, dumped her inside, threw a concrete block at her, covered the pit, and left her there until she was rescued.

Under cross-examination, the victim maintained that she knew the defendant before the incident as a carpenter living in a neighbouring compound and insisted that he alone abducted, raped, and assaulted her.

Addressing inconsistencies in her earlier statements referring to “three people,” she explained that she made those statements while drifting in and out of consciousness because of blood loss and trauma. After regaining full consciousness, she became certain that the defendant acted alone.

The prosecution also called ASP Precious Onyeoghani of the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID), Asaba, who testified on the investigation after the case file was transferred from the Abraka Police Division.

He identified exhibits recovered during the investigation, including blood-stained clothing, a white cloth allegedly used to gag the victim, the defendant’s extra-judicial statements, police attestation forms, and medical records.

During cross-examination, the witness acknowledged that no DNA analysis, semen analysis, or blood typing was conducted but maintained that the exhibits formed part of the investigation.

The fourth prosecution witness, W/DSP Akporhanor Erebi, the initial Investigating Police Officer, testified that she received the missing person report on January 2, 2021.

She stated that after the victim was rescued on January 5, she visited the hospital, where the victim identified the defendant as her attacker and narrated how she had been lured, raped, assaulted, and dumped inside a soak-away pit.

The officer testified that she recovered blood-stained clothing from the scene, arrested the defendant after he had been apprehended by local youths, obtained his statement after administering the cautionary words, and later conducted an identification parade during which the victim identified him.

Under cross-examination, she admitted attempting to investigate the defendant’s alibi by contacting the phone number he provided and visiting the construction site where he claimed to have worked but acknowledged that those investigative steps were not recorded in her official diary.

The prosecution’s final witness, Dr. Stephenson Onyema, who testified virtually, informed the court that he examined the victim at Catholic Hospital, Abbi, on January 5, 2021.

According to him, the victim was pale, severely dehydrated, weak, and had multiple injuries, including a deep septic cut on her neck and bruises across her body.

The doctor further testified that examination of the victim’s genitalia revealed that her hymen was no longer intact and that bruises extended from the genital area toward the anus, findings he said were consistent with forceful penetration.

Although he acknowledged that no DNA or semen analysis was conducted, he maintained that the injuries were deliberate and consistent with sexual assault and attempted murder.

In his defence, Abraham Jepondy denied all the allegations and relied on an alibi.

He told the court that on January 1, 2021, he travelled to Ughelli to visit his cousin, Ossai Ese, returned to Abraka the following day, and then worked at a construction site for three days. He also alleged that his extra-judicial statements were obtained through torture, intimidation, and coercion by police officers.

During cross-examination, however, the prosecution pointed out inconsistencies between his testimony and that of his cousin regarding the visit to Ughelli. The defendant was also unable to provide the surnames of people he claimed to have worked with and could not satisfactorily explain why workers at the construction site allegedly failed to recognize him when police visited.

His cousin testified in support of the alibi but admitted under cross-examination that he was the defendant’s first cousin, wanted him released, and had no independent witness to corroborate his testimony.

After reviewing the evidence, Justice Okeleke held that the victim gave clear, direct, and consistent evidence identifying the defendant as the person who repeatedly raped her during five days of captivity.

The court ruled that the medical evidence corroborated her testimony and rejected the defence argument that the absence of DNA or semen analysis was fatal to the prosecution’s case, holding that credible direct evidence could sustain a conviction.

The judge also rejected the defendant’s challenge to the voluntariness of his extra-judicial statements, noting that they were admitted without objection and that a later retraction did not make them inadmissible.

On the plea of alibi, the court held that the victim’s positive identification of the defendant completely destroyed the defence and described the supporting testimony of the defence witness as unconvincing.

On the attempted murder charge, Justice Okeleke held that cutting the victim’s neck, stabbing her repeatedly, denying her food and water, forcing harmful substances down her throat, and dumping her alive in a soak-away pit clearly demonstrated an intention to kill.

The judge further held that the defendant’s alleged statement that he intended to use the victim’s head for ritual purposes showed premeditation and strengthened the prosecution’s case.

On the charge of abduction, the court found that the prosecution proved the defendant unlawfully lured the victim into his room, restrained her against her will for about five days, and detained her for sexual assault and bodily harm.

The court held that the contradictions identified by the defence were minor and did not affect the substance of the prosecution’s case.

Consequently, Abraham Jepondy was found guilty of attempted murder contrary to Section 320 of the Criminal Code Law of Delta State, rape contrary to Sections 357 and 358 of the Criminal Code Law of Delta State, and abduction contrary to Section 361 of the Criminal Code Law of Delta State.

Following the conviction, the defendant pleaded for mercy, telling the court, “My Lord, your judgment is right. I am guilty. I am pleading for mercy.”

Defence counsel, A.E. Osheri Esq., urged the court to temper justice with mercy, noting that the defendant had spent four years in detention, was a first-time offender, was still young, and had family members traumatized by his incarceration.

In sentencing, Justice Okeleke held that although the court considered the plea for mercy, the seriousness of the offences, the age of the victim, the brutality of the attack, the ritualistic threats, and the attempt to conceal the crime outweighed the mitigating factors.

Describing the defendant as a predator and a grave danger to vulnerable members of society, the judge said the offences warranted the maximum punishment permitted by law to reflect their gravity and serve as a deterrent.

The court sentenced Abraham Jepondy to life imprisonment for attempted murder, life imprisonment for rape, and seven years’ imprisonment for abduction, ordering that all the sentences run concurrently.

The prosecution was represented by Mrs. A.N. Ukubeyinje-Mallarah of the Delta State Ministry of Justice, while A.E. Osheri Esq. appeared for the defendant.