It was the case for the prosecution that the accused had three children, two by Veronica Odo, PW.7, and one by Maria Odo Ukwueze, PW.4. The children of Veronica were Nkiruka a girl aged 3 and Onuma a boy aged 1. Maria bore him Ngozi aged 5 at the time material to this case. The accused was said to have slaughtered the three children on the same day 16th July 1983, within his premises.

Before the date of the incident the two wives had left him. Maria took custody of Ngozi and Veronica took Onuma with her while Nkiruka lived with Odo Nwa Ejinima PW.3 an elder brother of the accused. Maria claimed to have left the house of the accused because he neglected both herself and her child Ngozi. Veronica had to leave the accused because he was always accusing her of indulging in adultery.

On the date of the incident, 16/7/83, the accused went to the house of his brother, PW.3 and took Nkiruka home. He proceeded to the house of Maria and collected Ngozi and promised he would return the child the following day. He also took away Onuma from Veronica.

PW.2 Sunday Ejinima and PW.3 on that day saw the three children playing in the premises of the accused. They went for the police. On their return in company of PW.6 Sergeant Godwin Ifejeme. they found that the three children had been slaughtered. Post mortem examination was carried out by PW. 1. Dr. Vincent Okafor. The Doctor confined his evidence mainly on the autopsy carried out in respect of the corpse of Ngozi. According to him his examination revealed that the child "was neatly sliced across the back in the region of the third thoracic vertebra; such that the body could be pushed forward and all the contents of the chest Cavity would be revealed". The arteries and veins were also sliced across. PW.1 expressed the view that "death ensued from loss of blood from the cut vessels and damage to the internal organs of the chest, that is, the heart and the lungs, all of which were affected".

The accused who spoke in Ibo language made a confessional statement Exhibit B taken down in English by PW.6 but interpreted by PW.5 James Oke. PW.8 Assistant Superintendent of Police, Aliu Isah authenticated the statement as having been voluntary.

The accused who testified but called no witness, put up a defence completely at variance with his confessional statement. It was his case that Ngozi and the other two children were killed by armed robbers. According to him the armed robbers came in and killed the children. When police came to his house he had wanted to tell them the suffering he had gone through but they would not give him the chance to do so. As a result he attempted to kill himself by drinking half a gallon of petrol. He denied telling the police that he killed the children. He also did not tell the police that Veronica poisoned him, but added "but I know she did because she goes out with other men".

In his judgment the learned trial Judge rejected the defence of the accused along with the defence of insanity canvassed by his counsel in his address. The learned trial Judge believed that the accused had a long standing suspicion that Veronica was committing adultery and that she had given him some poison from which he would die. It was for that reason he took the decision to die with his children. The learned trial Judge was therefore satisfied that the accused was suffering from some delusion at the time, and that since the situation he imagined, if it had existed would not have exonerated him from guilt, he accordingly found him guilty of the murder of Ngozi Anthony, his daughter.