A High Court in Ado-Ekiti has sentenced 35-year-old Joy Ikoja to seven years in prison for mutilating her boyfriend’s genitals after catching him in bed with her friend.
Justice Oyinkansola Oluboyede convicted Ikoja of grievous harm under Section 255 of the Ekiti State Criminal Law, 2021, but acquitted her of attempted murder, ruling that prosecutors failed to prove she intended to kill or used a weapon.
The Ekiti State Ministry of Justice had charged Ikoja on two counts after the April 12, 2025 incident at Irona, Ado-Ekiti. Prosecutor F.O. Awoniyi presented four witnesses and five exhibits, including Ikoja’s confessional statement, medical reports, and photographs.
Court records showed Ikoja and her boyfriend, Ibrahim Usman, had lived together as partners for three years. Trouble started after Ikoja let her friend, Mayowa Ayomide, move in with them while Ayomide sorted out housing problems, with Usman’s consent.
Ayomide and Usman began a secret affair. On the night of April 12, Ikoja came home around 7:30 p.m. to find the door locked from inside. When she got in, she found the pair together in bed.
Usman pushed Ayomide aside and tried to block Ikoja, but a fight broke out. Ikoja grabbed his genitals with such force that she tore his scrotum and exposed his testicles.
Doctors at the Police Cottage Hospital in Okesa, Ado-Ekiti, treated Usman that night, but the wound became infected and killed surrounding tissue, forcing his transfer to Ekiti State University Teaching Hospital for specialist care.
Ikoja, represented by Legal Aid Council lawyer Adeyinka Opaleke, pleaded not guilty and denied making any confession, claiming she only fought briefly without hurting Usman.
The judge rejected her denial, saying her confessional statement — backed by medical evidence and police testimony — proved her guilt.
Justice Oluboyede condemned the rise in domestic violence fuelled by unchecked emotion, insisting nothing justifies such violence. She handed Ikoja the maximum sentence under the law, minus time already spent in custody.
The judge also criticised the defence for pushing a “not guilty” plea instead of negotiating a plea deal, which she said would have cut legal costs, shortened the trial, protected the victim’s privacy, and likely secured a lighter sentence.
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