Jury unanimously clears man of murder in trial over 2020 stabbing

A unanimous not guilty verdict has cleared Okolo Innocent Okwudili of the murder of his friend and fellow Nigerian Joseph Ezechi, who died of a single stab wound inflicted by Okwudili in an Qawra apartment in 2020.

The jury heard how Ezechi had come to Malta from Italy some years prior to the murder in order to find work, so as to be able to send money to his wife, back in Nigeria.

Okwudili’s lawyer, Joseph Mifsud, had argued that the killing was carried out in self-defence after an argument between the two men, over food shopping, had escalated out of control.

Okwudili testified during his trial, explaining that the argument had descended into fisticuffs, with Ezechi beating Okwudili until he was close to death. It was at that point that the accused had stabbed his assailant once with a knife, he said.

Prosecuting lawyer Maria Francesca Spiteri, from the Office of the Attorney General, had argued that Okwudili had only suffered superficial wounds to his lip, also pointing out that this was the first time that the accused had testified in the proceedings against him.

Mifsud hit back on that point, arguing that his client could have opted not to testify during his trial too, as he had nothing to hide.

The jury heard how the victim’s wife had given birth to their child in Nigeria on the night of the incident and had called up her husband to tell him the good news, but he was already dead at that point.

After reading out their unanimous not guilty verdict, the jury was dismissed by presiding judge Madam Justice Consuelo Scerri Herrera, who declared Okwudili innocent of all charges.

Read More: Okolo Innocent Okwudili had plead not guilty to the fatal stabbing