The High Court in Accra has sentenced Abdulai Kadiri, a 30-year-old mechanic, to life imprisonment after a jury found him guilty of murdering his 9-day-old daughter by administering a corrosive substance believed to be acid.
A seven-member jury returned a 6-1 majority guilty verdict after a full trial presided over by Justice Mary Maame Ekue Yanzuh.
The prosecution was led by Senior State Attorney Esther Fafa Tetteh from the Office of the Attorney-General, while the convict was represented by defence counsel.
Kadiri, now a convicted murderer, was the boyfriend of Doris Martey. The two began a romantic relationship in 2020, which led to an unplanned pregnancy just three months into the affair.
When informed of the pregnancy, the convict allegedly demanded that Martey terminate it. She refused.
According to the prosecution’s evidence, Kadiri later told Martey that he had arranged and paid a doctor at Tema General Hospital to carry out an abortion.
Despite this, Martey stood her ground and went ahead with the pregnancy, although the convict ceased visiting her afterward. On occasion, he provided minimal financial support for antenatal care, often accompanied by verbal abuse.
The child, later named Muniratu Awudu, was born on June 9, 2021, at the Prampram Polyclinic. After several unsuccessful attempts to reach Kadiri, Martey informed her sister—who operated a shop near the convict’s residence—to notify him of the birth.
In response, Kadiri sent GHC 400 to cover hospital expenses. Martey and the baby were discharged on June 12, 2021.
On June 15, Kadiri contacted Martey using her sister’s phone and sent her an additional GHC 350—allegedly for performing naming rites and feeding the baby. The following day, he named the child Muniratu Awudu over the phone.
The prosecution narrated that on June 17, 2021, shortly after Martey had finished breastfeeding the baby and left her lying on a pillow in a chair, Kadiri arrived at her residence unannounced.
Surprised by his presence, Martey greeted him and walked with him toward the baby, who had begun to cry.
At his request, Martey handed the baby to him, and the two went inside her room. While he held the baby and sat on a plastic chair, Martey stepped out briefly to bathe at the back of the house, taking advantage of his unexpected presence.
Moments later, she heard the baby crying in distress and rushed back into the room. There, she saw her child in Kadiri’s arms with a discolored mouth. Martey’s sister, who had also arrived and was present during the incident, repeatedly asked Kadiri what he had given to the baby. Kadiri responded vaguely, claiming the child was vomiting.
Upon closer inspection, they suspected something more sinister, as the child’s lips appeared burnt and her clothing was damaged.
They rushed the baby to the Prampram Polyclinic, where medical personnel confirmed that the child had ingested a corrosive substance believed to be acid.
Due to the severity of her injuries, the baby was transferred to the Tema General Hospital and subsequently to the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital, where she succumbed to her injuries on June 24, 2021.
