ENUGU, Nigeria (VOICE OF NAIJA)- Justice Lauretta Oyeka of the High Court sitting in Oba, Idemili South Local Government Area of Anambra State, has sentenced a commercial tricycle operator, Makuachukwu Ezike, to death by hanging for the murder of a passenger during a “one chance” robbery operation.
Delivering judgment, Justice Oyeka convicted Ezike for the killing of Jude Onwuegbuchunam, an indigene of Umuoji in Anambra State.
The judge held that the circumstantial evidence against the defendant was compelling, pointing to the abandoned tricycle and his attempt to flee the scene as strong indicators of guilt.
Justice Oyeka also relied on the convict’s voluntary confessional statement as well as medical evidence linking the victim’s death to injuries sustained after he was pushed from a moving tricycle.
Consequently, the court found Ezike guilty of murder and sentenced him to death by hanging.
Earlier, the prosecution, led by Mrs L.N. Umeozulu, told the court that on November 17, 2019, Ezike and two accomplices, who remain at large, operated a “one chance” robbery syndicate along the Oba-Obosi-Nkpor-Umuoji Road.
READ ALSO Court Sentences 43 Internet Fraudsters In Anambra
According to the prosecution, the suspects posed as commercial transport operators and picked up Onwuegbuchunam as a passenger before attempting to rob him of his mobile phone and other valuables while in transit.
The court heard that when the victim resisted the robbery attempt and raised an alarm, the attackers pushed him out of the moving tricycle at high speed near Abidi Hall in Umuoji, where local vigilante operatives were stationed.
The prosecution said Onwuegbuchunam suffered severe injuries from the fall and died two days later.
It further stated that Ezike returned to the area the following day to retrieve the abandoned tricycle but was apprehended by vigilante operatives and subsequently handed over to the police.
To prove its case, the prosecution called five witnesses, including the medical doctor who conducted the post-mortem examination. The doctor testified that the victim died from injuries sustained after being pushed from the moving tricycle.
Although the defence argued that there was no eyewitness to the incident, Justice Oyeka ruled that the law allows convictions to be based on direct evidence, confessional statements or circumstantial evidence.
The court subsequently sentenced Ezike to death by hanging for the murder of Onwuegbuchunam.