By Abdulwahab Abdulah & Jane Echewedo

Justice Sedotan Ogunsanya of an Ikeja high court has sentenced a 23-year-old bus conductor, Joseph Ro-bert, to 21 years in jail for killing his roommate, Kalu Kalu.

The state government had brought a murder charge against Robert after he allegedly stabbed Kalu on the neck with a knife during a fight.

Delivering the judgement on manslaughter, Justice Ogunsanya ruled: “The accused is, hereby, sentenced to 21 years imprisonment, which will run concurrently.”

The charge was changed from murder, pressed against him by the state, based on the consideration that the convict had no intention of killing the deceased.

The prosecution, led by the Attorney General of Lagos State, Adeniji Kaseem, said that the convict committed the offence on February 2, at 1, Shokunbi Street, Shasha, in the Ikeja Judicial Division.

The convict was charged for murder contrary to Section 319(1) of the Criminal Code Law, Cap C.17 Vol. 2, Laws of Lagos State.

According to the confessional statement, Robert and the deceased lived in a one-room apartment, until Robert decided to harbour his girlfriend, Blessing, who was sent packing by her elder brother, a co-tenant.

It did not go down well with the deceased, who complained about the girl’s attitude and the manner in which Robert took the matter.

However, on that fateful day at about 11p.m., the deceased grew very furious over the long stay of the girl and threatened to throw her out of the house.

The confrontation by the deceased resulted to a fight in which Robert threatened to stab Kalu if he dared come close to him. But the deceased called his bluff and went up against him.

Robert, however, stabbed the deceased on the neck and he fell. The convict, noticing that his room-mate was badly injured, rushed him to the hospital. But he died on the way.

The corpse was later carried back to the house but the landlord, one Saheed, and other tenants decided to report the matter to the police.