One Jide Afolayan Sunday has been sentenced to life imprisonment for bathing his girlfriend, Glory Sylvester Ita, with acid over her refusal to marry him.
Justice Blessing Egwu of Cross River State High Court ordered that the 33-year-old convict must serve his sentence at Calabar Medium Security Custodial Centre and pay N10 million compensation for the surgery the victim underwent.
Sunday was arrested and charged to court on January 24, this year.
Justice Egwu said the prosecution had proved the attempted murder charge against the convict who had poured acid on the victim after she refused his marriage proposal.
Sunday had been in police custody for months for the attempted murder of Ita when he bathed her with acid from her head to her abdomen. One of her ears and a breast were severely burnt by the corrosive substance.
He also hurt her finger and attempted to push the victim into the pool to drown her.
During the trial, the prosecutor stated that the incident was triggered by a breakup where Ita was invited by Sunday (her boyfriend) to Reel Home Hotel, Ekon-Etta, Off Marian Road, Calabar, on October 21, 2022, which resulted in a heated argument where he tried to kill her by pouring the acid on her.
According to the prosecutor, the relationship lasted for nine months before Sunday sought Ita’s hand in marriage, and when she refused and threatened to end the relationship, he got up and threw the acid over her body.
Due to the corrosive property of the substance and the burning sensation, Ita suffered severe injuries to one ear and breast, while other parts of her body were also burned.
As soon as Sunday was arrested, he denied the accusation, claiming that it was the victim who poured the acid on him, but the evidences clearly showed that Ita was the victim.
