UK Court Sentences Two Nigerian Students Who Attacked Friend over Whose Father is Richest

Call it absurdity of the highest order, and you won’t be out of order. There’s actually no need searching for a better word to describe the stupid acts of two Nigerian students, from a country where millions of their mates live in despondence in terms of access to quality education, who attacked a friend for bragging that his father was the richest. Elvis Ilonze, an engineering student at the University of Sussex and Daniel Oluyemi, an accounting student from the same university, were handed a one-year prison sentence each by a UK court after both offenders admitted to two counts of assault occasioning grievous bodily harm.

Trouble began when a childhood friend of Ilonze named Prince Nnaji bragged that his father was richer than Ilonze’s father, a remark which Ilonze deemed untrue and insulting to his well-heeled father and family. So to correct the supposed insult and disrespect, Ilonze, along with Oluyemi, chased Nnaji down the street and battered him with a shisha pipe and a bottle of wine.

It’s not surprising that this matter has generated serious debate particularly amongst Nigerians living in diaspora with many saying that the shameful acts of the two students over such a frivolous argument is an indication of how low moral has sunk in Nigeria with young people copying and fighting over irrelevancies as shown by many leaders in Nigeria.

Though some reports have suggested that the reckless youngsters are children of top Nigerian politicians, no recognisable name in the country’s political sphere has come out to speak on their conducts.

In handing down the judgement, Judge Christine Laing QC said, “Unlike many of the people who pass through the courts, you both come from, effectively, backgrounds of privilege.

“It couldn’t be more childish, effectively an insult on somebody’s parents – who’s got the richer dad – that started this fight. You both appear to be incredibly immature, perhaps as a result of being cosseted in your upbringing.”

The two students are also said to face possibility of deportation and criminal records to boot, obviously a tortuous journey to learn and imbibe good behaviour.