Two Men Sentenced to Three Years for Causing Death by Negligence in Nicosia

Presiding Judge Füsun Cemaller, along with Senior Judge Vedia Berkut Barkın and Judge Tutku Candaş, delivered the verdict, which was read by Judge Barkın.

The incident occurred on 10 January 2023 at approximately 12:55 p.m. in an apartment located on 2nd Street of the Haspolat Municipality housing. According to the court, Nwauuisi had demanded a £125 deposit from his former flatmates and threatened to have a voodoo spell cast by his brother in Nigeria if the money was not paid. The defendants then invited Nwauuisi to the apartment under the pretense of resolving the matter.

Once inside, Edirium locked the door, and the pair demanded Nwauuisi call his brother to reverse the alleged curse. During the confrontation, the defendants brandished wooden-handled axes they kept in the house, threatening and frightening Nwauuisi to the point that he jumped from the open balcony — a fall of nearly 11 metres — onto concrete. He was rushed to the Nicosia State Hospital, where he died in intensive care on 25 January.

Following the incident, the two men fled to South Cyprus. They were located and arrested with the assistance of the Crime Information Exchange Office and were handed over to Turkish Cypriot authorities via UN peacekeepers at the Metehan/Kermiya checkpoint on 20 January.

The court noted that Edirium and Andrew had both been living illegally in the country — Edirium since September 2021 and Andrew since April 2022. Judge Barkın emphasised that the two, while residing in the TRNC illegally, had threatened the victim with axes over a deposit dispute, leading to his fatal fall. She remarked that the involvement of illegal residents in serious crimes has become an alarming trend.

Taking into account all aggravating and mitigating factors, the court sentenced both defendants to three years in prison.