Two Men Jailed 30 Years for Fatal Flogging of 12-Year-Old Housekeeper in Lagos

Two men were sentenced to 15 years in prison each on Thursday for the brutal flogging and subsequent death of a 12-year-old housekeeper.

The convicts—Edidiong Edem, a 22-year-old painter, and Alex Effiong-Etim, a 21-year-old mechanic—received their sentences from Justice Abiola Soladoye at the Ikeja Sexual Offences and Domestic Violence Court.

The ruling followed a plea bargain on an amended charge of involuntary manslaughter.

Justice Soladoye ordered the custodial sentences to take effect from the date of their initial remand.

The court heard the harrowing details of the assault, in which the men used a broom to flog the young victim, ultimately causing her death.

Edem and Effiong-Etim were initially arraigned before the court on February 25, 2022, where they pleaded not guilty to the charge.

However, they later opted for a plea bargain agreement dated February 25, which led to the amended charge of involuntary manslaughter.

Earlier during proceedings, the prosecution, led by state counsel Oluwaseun Adewoye, told the court that the offence occurred in January 2022 at Military Estate in the Eleko area of Lagos State.

According to the prosecution, the convicts recklessly flogged the young girl on her legs with a broom, inflicting injuries that later became infected with tetanus and eventually led to her death.

The offence contravened Section 224 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015.