Ekiti woman murders husband by stabbing him claims she was insane

On Thursday, an Ekiti State High Court in Ado Ekiti, Ekiti State, issued an order designating Janet Jegede, 36, as a criminal lunatic for fatally stabbing her husband Kayode.

Jegede was charged with one offense that had murderous overtones before Justice Bamidele Omotoso on September 16, 2020.

The defendant “did murder one Kayode Jegede (her husband) on November 17, 2019, at Ado Ekiti, contrary to Section 316 and punishable under Section 319 (1) of the Criminal Code Law, Act C16, Laws of Ekiti State, 2012,” the allegation reads.

In his statement to the police, her stepson Ayomide claimed that she had called him and asked him to come home and take his father to the hospital because she had killed him.

According to Ayomide, “When I got home, I met my father in the pool of his blood, gasping. I saw a knife hanging on his chest. I asked her what happened, but her explanation was incoherent.

“When I removed the knife, the bleeding increased. I went outside to call neighbours to help me take him to the hospital. He was rushed to the Ekiti State University Teaching Hospital where he was confirmed dead on arrival.

“My stepmother once reported my father to me asking me to warn him to stop infidelity. She had threatened to kill him if he refused to stop. I took it as an empty threat until she killed my father.”

Abayomi Olowoyo-Richard, the prosecutor, called five witnesses and produced statements from the defendant, a knife, pictures of the deceased’s corpse, and witness statements as exhibits.

However, the defendant’s attorney, Emmanuel Adedeji, sought the court to discharge and acquit her on the grounds of insanity, claiming that the defendant was mentally unstable at the time of the occurrence.

In his judgment, Justice Omotoso said, “It is settled that where a plea of insanity succeeds, the defendant will be ordered to be confined in a prescribed place to await further order of the appropriate authority.

“I hereby order that the defendant, Janet Jegede, be kept in custody as a criminal lunatic at a correctional services centre, off Afao Road, Ado Ekiti, until the governor’s pleasure be known in line with Section 223 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Law, 2011.”