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| Rev King |
The Lagos State Government
on Friday hailed the verdict of the Supreme Court which upheld the judgment of
a Lagos High Court sentencing the General Overseer of the Christian Praying
Assembly, Chukwuemeka Ezeugo (popularly known as Rev. King) to death by
hanging.
The
apex court, in a lead judgment delivered by Justice Sylvester Ngwuta, dismissed
the appeal filed by Rev. King for lacking in merit, and held that the facts of
the case were ”like what you see in a horror movie.”
Reacting
to the verdict, the State Government, through the Attorney General and
Commissioner for Justice, Mr. Adeniji Kazeem said the judgment was another
confirmation of the seriousness of Governor Akinwunmi Ambode’s administration
to be decisive in fighting crime in the state.
The
Commissioner said: “This is just another confirmation that the government of
his Excellency, Governor Akinwunmi Ambode is going to be very strong on
fighting crime. Wherever a crime is committed, no matter how long it takes, the
government of Lagos State will ensure that the perpetrators of those crimes
face justice eventually.
“I
salute the institution called the Supreme Court for this erudite judgment and I
want to assure the public that we will continue and we will not relent in our
fight to make Lagos a safer, secure and more prosperous state,” Kazeem said.
In December 2015, the apex court, presided over by
Justice Walter Onoghen, had adjourned for judgment after entertaining arguments
from counsel to prosecution and defence in the matter.
Kazeem,
who led the prosecution team alongside Idowu Alakija, the Director of Public
Prosecution (DPP) and other senior counsel from the Lagos State Ministry of
Justice, had urged the Supreme Court to dismiss the appeal and uphold the
judgment of the lower courts.
Rev.
King was arraigned on September 26, 2006 before a Lagos High Court 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 High Court, Ikeja, on January 11, 2007, for
the murder of one of his church members, Ann Uzoh.
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,
Rev. King 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 Appeal Court panel of Justices,
concurred with the lead judgment.
Again,
Rev. King not being satisfied with the Appeal Court verdict, approached the
Supreme Court for invalidation of the judgment, but has now failed with the
final decision of the apex court.
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