A 24-year-old man, Godwin Banchir, appeared before a Jos, Plateau State High Court on Wednesday, charged with killing his mother.
Banchir, according to the prosecutor, Luka Pam, killed his mother for refusing to answer his greetings.
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the judge, Justice A. I. Ashom, adjourned the matter to May 30 for hearing after Pam requested an adjournment to enable him present a vital witness.
Pam, of the Plateau State Ministry of Justice, said the witness, a police personnel, was “unavoidably away on police duties”.
The accused person was first arraigned on June 22, 2016 on a one-count charge of culpable homicide, an allegation he had since denied.
According to Pam, the accused committed the offence on January 27, 2016 at his home in Fuskar Mata Village, Bassa Local Government Area in Plateau State.
Pam told the court that on the said date, the accused used a stick to hit his mother, one Saratu Banchir, which later resulted in her death.
The prosecuting counsel said the accused had told the police, in a confessional statement, that he killed his mother because he was angry that she did not respond to his greetings.
The statement quoted the accused as saying that when he woke up at 6am on the said date, he saw his mother sitting in the compound, while on his way to his farm, and greeted her, but she did not answer.
It further quoted the accused as saying that her silence angered him and he used a stick and the handle of his axe to beat her until she became unconscious.
The prosecution quoted the accused as saying that when he hit his mother on the rib and stomach, she fell down and let out a loud cry, which attracted neighbours and family members.
The statement said Banchir’s uncle, one Godwin, rushed into the compound and took the woman to the hospital for treatment and, on his return, beat up the suspect before handing him over to the police.
Pam said: “The statement indicated that the accused was in the habit of quarreling with his mother anytime he was hungry.
“It (statement) also claimed that the woman used to fight her son whenever he fetched water from her room to take his bath.”
He further quoted the accused as claiming that he did not know that the beating would result in the death of his mother.
The prosecutor then told the court that the offence contravened section 221 of the Penal Code, Laws of Northern Nigeria, and was punishable with death, upon conviction.