An 18-year-old boy, Tope Momoh, has been remanded in prison custody by a Magistrate Court in Akure, Ondo, for allegedly killing his mother, Stella Momoh. 

Chief Magistrate Musa Al-Yunnus gave the order when the case came up for hearing on Friday. 

The teenager was said to have strangled his mother during an argument on September 6, at the Ikakumo Akoko community in Akoko North-East Local Government Area of Ondo.

He was arraigned before the court on a one-count charge of murder.

Nelson Akintimehin, the police prosecutor in charge of the case, told the court that the teenager committed a one-count charge of murder.

Mr Akintimehin explained that the accused strangled his biological mother to death in the middle of the night for calling him a ‘bastard’. 

“The boy (Tope) confessed to the crime two weeks after his mother had been buried. Initially, the cause of her death was not immediately known until her son claimed to be the one responsible for it,” he told the Magistrates Court. 

He added that the offence contravenes Section 319 (1) of the Criminal Code, Cap 37, Vol. II Law of Ondo State, 2006.

The prosecutor, however, asked the court to remand the teenager to the custodial centre pending advice from the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP).

When the case was mentioned, the accused pleaded guilty to the offence, adding that he had been unable to have peace of mind since his mother’s burial. 

“I have not had rest of mind since my mother’s burial. I want the court to show me mercy,” the accused broke down in tears in court. 

Ruling on the case, Chief Magistrate Al-Yunnus ordered that the boy be kept at the Nigerian Correctional Centre in Olokuta, Akure, and adjourned the case till October 20 for mention.