CORONER

A young man in Anambra state ,Nigeria has been arrested over the murder of a seven month pregnant woman, It was gathered that the two love birds visited a hotel in Inland Town area on Wednesday for an all night sex escapade but the woman failed to wake up the following morning.........CULLED FROM DAILY POST

LEGAL OPINION

The world is sure coming to an end, if you must fornicate then be ready to face the consequence.

The first issue for determination is whether the man will be liable for the death of the deceased.

 Any relationship between too consenting adult is not illegal in law, from the above scenario it is more of moral wrong than the Law.

What can the suspect be charged for under the law

Being the last person seen with the lady before her death, he may be charged with manslaughter or murder. Murder is punishable under section 319 of the Criminal Code and defined as an unlawful killing of another person, malice aforementioned.

Manslaughter: This is the unjustifiable, inexcusable and intentional killing of a human being without deliberation which may be involuntarily in a commission of a lawful act without due caution and circumspection.

What are the options available to the suspect in this case?

From the scenario, no one was able to give evidence as to the cause of her death except that the lodged in the hotel together. With this we can infer that the deceased went into the hotel with her lover willingly.

It is the duty of the prosecution to enquire into the cause of the death of the victim of crime, if any. This is called CORONER which is the investigation and certification of the cause of death of anyone or group persons whose cause of death is questioned. This is mostly used in countries whose legal system was at a time been subject to the English legal system which Nigeria is not an exception. An inquest is done especially when the death is sudden, unknown or was cause as a result of violence.

What happens after an inquest is done

Where the result of the inquest says the victim’s death was a natural death (one of the verdicts of Coroner) the suspect shall be discharged, since no prove the woman was forced into the hotel but a mutual consent by the two love birds.

Let’s say NO to Fornication.

Thank you.

Oyenike Alliyu-Adebiyi LLB (hons) BL