The Anambra State High Court, Oba Division,has sentenced a commercial tricycle operator, Makuachukwu Ezike, to death by hanging for the murder of a passenger during a “one chance” robbery operation.

Trial judge Justice Lauretta Oyeka, in her judgement, convicted Mr Ezike of the murder of Jude Onwuegbuchunam, an indigene of Umuoji in Anambra.

Ms Onyeka held that the circumstantial evidence against Mr Ezike was compelling, citing the abandoned tricycle and his fleeing from the scene as strong indicators of guilt.

She also relied on the convict’s voluntary confession and the medical evidence linking the victim’s death to the injuries he sustained after being pushed from the moving tricycle.

The court consequently found Mr Ezike guilty of murder and sentenced him to death by hanging.

Earlier, the prosecution, led by L.N. Umeozulu, told the court that on November 17, 2019, Mr Ezike and two accomplices, who are at large, operated a “one chance” robbery syndicate along the Oba-Obosi-Nkpor-Umuoji Road.

The gang, the prosecution said, disguised themselves as commercial transport operators, picked up Mr Onwuegbuchunam as a passenger and attempted to rob him of his mobile phone and other valuables while in transit.

The prosecution said that when the victim resisted and raised the alarm, the assailants pushed him out of the moving tricycle at high speed near Abidi Hall, Umuoji, where local vigilantes were stationed.

According to the prosecution, Mr Onwuegbuchunam sustained severe injuries from the fall and died two days later.

The prosecution told the court that Mr Ezike returned to the area the following day to recover the abandoned tricycle but was apprehended by the vigilantes and handed over to the police.

The prosecution called five witnesses, including the medical doctor who conducted the post-mortem examination and testified that the victim’s death resulted from injuries sustained when he was pushed from the moving tricycle.

Although the defence argued that there was no eyewitness account to the incident, Ms Oyeka held that the law permits conviction based on direct evidence, confessional statements or circumstantial evidence. 

(NAN)