An Anambra High Court sitting in Ogbaru, on Thursday, sentenced a vigilance operative, Onyeka Eze, to death by hanging for the murder of a phone repairer, Anayo Ugbo.

The court, presided over by the Administrative Judge of the Ogbaru Judicial Division, Justice Charles Okaa, found Mr Eze, who hails from Enueiji in Ika North LGA of Delta, guilty of murder.

The prosecution, led by assistant chief state counsel in the ministry of justice, Chinyere Aganama-Onyeze, told the court that the incident happened at the Shoe Site Market, Okpoko, on May 5, 2022.

Mrs Aganama-Onyeze said that the deceased, a cellphone repairer at the market, was summoned by the convict, said to be a vigilance operative, to meet their boss.

According to her, when Mr Ugbo asked for time to finish the phone he was fixing, the convict refused and insisted that he accompanied him to their office, situated in a three-storey building, belonging to a security outfit in the market.

She also said that the convict ordered that the customer, Joshua Igwe, whose phone was being fixed by the deceased, should follow them to the office.

The prosecution also told the court that on arrival at the office, the vigilance boss was not around and the deceased pleaded to return to his shop to continue his work.

She said that the convict refused to oblige him and instead asked him to pay some money over a fight that occurred previously in the market.

She said that the deceased, who hailed from Ogboji Ezzagu in Ishielu LGA of Ebonyi, declined on the ground that he was not involved in the fight.

Mrs Aganama-Onyeze further said that the convict, angered by the response, assaulted the deceased and pushed him from the third floor of the building.

She said that Mr Ugbo sustained severe head injuries and died two days later at the Nnamdi Azikiwe University Teaching Hospital, Nnewi.

During the trial, the prosecution called four witnesses, including a medical doctor, who conducted the post-mortem examination, and an inspector of police.

A brother to the deceased, Sunday Ugbo, also testified that his late brother narrated the incident to him in the presence of the witness before he died.

Although the convict maintained his innocence and denied responsibility for Mr Ugbo’s death, the court held that he failed to prove that he was an authorised vigilance operative.

Delivering judgement, the judge said that the prosecution had established the case of murder beyond reasonable doubt against Mr Eze and consequently sentenced him to death by hanging. 

(NAN)