A High Court sitting in the Ogbaru Judicial Division of Anambra State has sentenced a vigilante operative, Onyeka Eze, to death by hanging for the murder of a phone repairer, Anayo Ugbo.

The court, presided over by the Administrative Judge, Justice Charles Okaa, delivered the judgment on Thursday after finding the defendant guilty of the offence.

The prosecuting counsel, an Assistant Chief State Counsel from the Anambra State Ministry of Justice, Chinyere Aganama-Onyeze, told the court that the victim, Ugbo, who hailed from Ogboji Ezzagu in Ishielu Local Government Area of Ebonyi State, was repairing a phone at the Shoe Site Market in Okpoko, Ogbaru LGA, on May 5, 2022, when the defendant summoned him to meet their “boss.”

According to the prosecution, the victim had asked for time to complete the repair work, but the defendant refused and insisted that he follow him to the vigilante office located in a three-storey building within the market.

Ugbo eventually accompanied him to the office along with his customer.

However, upon arrival, the vigilante boss was not present. The victim reportedly pleaded with the defendant to allow him return to his shop to continue his work, but the request was declined.

The court heard that the defendant instead demanded that the victim pay money over a previous altercation in the market, involving a damaged chair and a woman’s spilt pepper soup. Ugbo allegedly refused the demand, insisting he was not involved in the fight.

Angered by the refusal, the defendant reportedly assaulted the victim and pushed him from the third floor of the building.

The fall caused severe head injuries, and Ugbo died two days later at the Nnamdi Azikiwe University Teaching Hospital, where he had been taken for treatment.

During the trial, the prosecution presented four witnesses, including an eyewitness, a medical doctor who conducted the postmortem examination, a police inspector, and the deceased’s brother, Sunday Ugbo.

The brother told the court that the victim narrated the incident to him in the presence of his customer and eyewitness, Joshua Igwe.

The defendant maintained his innocence but testified only on his own behalf. Under cross- examination, he was unable to prove that he was an authorised vigilante operative.

Justice Okaa held that the prosecution had established its case beyond a reasonable doubt.

“The prosecution proved the case of murder against the defendant beyond reasonable doubt,” the judge ruled.

Eze, who hails from Enueiji in Ika North Local Government Area of Delta State, was 26 years old as of the time of the incident in 2022, but is now 30 years old. (The PUNCH)

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