The
Court of Appeal in Lagos will Friday (today) decide whether or not to
quash the death sentence passed on the General-Overseer of the Christian
Praying Assembly, Chukwuemeka Ezeugo (aka Rev. King), by a Lagos High
Court, Ikeja on January 11, 2007.
The
appellate court headed by Justice Amina Augie on November 5, 2012 had
heard arguments of parties on the appeal filed by Ezeugo, through his
counsel, Mr. Olalekan Ojo.
Ojo
had argued that the lower court judge, Justice Joseph Oyewole, who
handed down the death sentence, erred in law in many respects.
But
the prosecution, represented by the Lagos State Solicitor-General, Mr.
Lawal Pedro, (SAN), urged the court to uphold Oyewole’s judgment.
“We urge your Lordships to dismiss this appeal,” Pedro said.
Oyewole had convicted Ezeugo and sentenced him to death by hanging for the alleged murder of a church member, Ann Uzoh.
The cleric was on September 26, 2006, first arraigned on six counts of attempted murder.
The prosecution had said Ezeugo poured petrol on the deceased and five others and set them on fire thereafter.
Uzoh died on August 2, 2006, 11 days after the incident, because of the injuries sustained from the incident.
However, Ojo, in his notice of appeal filed on January 16, 2007, raised 16 grounds of appeal against the judgment.
On
June 10, 2008, the appellate court granted him leave to argue
additional grounds through an amended notice of appeal filed on June 15,
2008.
At
the hearing of the appeal, Ojo, who said Ezeugo did not commit the
crime and was not at the scene, noted that Uzoh in two statements before
her death had said she sustained the injuries in a generator accident.
He added that Uzoh exonerated Ezeugo in the statements, claiming that the latter was not responsible for her injuries.
Ojo
further said there was a third statement in which the deceased was said
to have claimed the appellant was the one who ordered petrol to be
poured on her, thereby contradicting the first two statements.
TalkOfNaija
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