 |
| Rev. King |
The
Court of Appeal in Lagos has affirmed the death sentence passed on the
General Overseer of the Christian Praying Assembly, Chukwuemeka Ezeugo
(aka Rev. King), by a Lagos High Court in Ikeja on January 11, 2007.
In a unanimous judgment read by Justice
Fatima Akinbami on Friday, the appellate court dismissed Ezeugo’s
appeal, stating that the prosecution had “surely and effectively” proved
its case against the convict at the trial court.
Ezeugo had appealed the judgment of
Justice Joseph Oyewole, who had convicted and sentenced him to death by
hanging for the alleged murder of a church member, Ann Uzoh, and
attempted murder of five other devotees.
The convict is currently among the death row inmates at the Katsina Maximum Prisons in Katsina State.
Delivering judgment on the appeal, the
Justice Amina Augie-led three-man panel dismissed the appellant’s
contention that there were “contradictions and inconsistencies” in the
prosecution’s evidence.
Other members of the panel are Justice Fatima Akinbami and Justice Ibrahim Saulawa.
Akinbami, who read the lead judgment,
said, “This appeal fails and is hereby resolved against the appellant.
This appeal is devoid of merit and it is hereby dismissed.
“The conviction and sentence passed on
the appellant on January 7, 2011 by Justice Joseph Oyewole of the Lagos
High Court, Ikeja Division is hereby affirmed.”
The condemned cleric, arraigned on
September 26, 2006 on six counts of attempted murder and murder, was
said to have poured petrol on six devotees for an offence which he
classified as “acts of fornication,” and set them ablaze.
One of the victims, Uzoh, died on August
2, 2006, 11 days after the incident, as a result of the injuries she
sustained from the incident.
PUNCH
No comments:
Post a Comment