Rev King to die by hanging, says supreme court
The supreme court has dismissed the appeal filed
by Chukwuemeka Ezeugo, general overseer of the Christian Praying Assembly
(better known as Reverend King), challenging the judgment of a Lagos high court
sentencing him to death by hanging. In his lead judgment, Justice Sylvester
Ngwuta, said the facts of the case were “like what you see in a horror
movie”. he added that the appeal lacked merit.
Ezeugo was arraigned on
September 26, 2006 on a six-count charge of attempted murder and murder. He
pleaded not guilty to the allegation but was sentenced to death by the then
Justice Joseph Oyewole of the Lagos state high court, Ikeja, on January 11,
2007, for the murder of one of his church members, Ann Uzoh.
The court upheld the
judgment of the lower court sentencing him to death, but overruled the 20-year
sentence handed down by the high court. In December 2015, the apex court,
presided over by Justice Walter Onoghen, adjourned for judgment after
entertaining arguments from counsel to prosecution and defence in the matter.
Adeniji Kazeem, Lagos state attorney-general and commissioner for justice,
appeared before the supreme court alongside Idowu Alakija, director of public
prosecution and other senior counsel in the state, urging the court to dismiss
the appeal and uphold the judgment of the lower courts.
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| Chukwuemeka Ezeugo, a.k.a Reverend King |
Justice Oyewole is
now a judge of the appeal court sitting in the Calabar division. The Lagos
state government had said that the convict poured petrol on the deceased and
five other persons and that Uzoh died on August 2, 2006 – 11 days after the act
was perpetrated on her. Specifically, Ezeugo was convicted and sentenced to 20
years imprisonment for the attempted murder, and death by hanging for the
offence of murder.
Dissatisfied, he challenged the verdict before the court of
appeal in Lagos, but the appeal was thrown out. ’’I hereby rule that the
prosecution effectively discharged the burden of proof on it. This appeal is
devoid of any basis and accordingly fails,” Justice Fatimo Akinbami had said
while reading the judgment. “The judgment of the high court is hereby affirmed,
and the conviction imposed on the appellant (which is death by hanging), is
also affirmed.” Amina Augie and Ibrahim Saulawa, the two other members of the
panel of Justices, concurred with the lead judgment. Again, Ezeugo not being
satisfied with the verdict, approach the supreme court, seeking invalidation of
the judgment.
The Cable
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