Rev. King
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.
PUNCH
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