Rita Enemuru, Reporting
A 24-year-old man, Ebinum Prosper, has been sentenced to death by hanging for the murder of his classmate, Ojieh Chibogu, in the Ugiliama community of Delta State.
The judgment was delivered on Monday by Justice F. Enemor at the Delta State High Court 2 in Kwale, who found the defendant guilty of the charge of murder.
The court heard that the fatal incident occurred on June 29, 2016, in Ugiliama, following a misunderstanding between the two individuals. The prosecution, led by Mrs. Catherine O. Onoberhie-Obereruomo, an Assistant Director in the Delta State Ministry of Justice, told the court that the defendant stabbed the deceased with a knife, an act that resulted in his death.
The case, originally filed in Asaba under suit number HCK/89C/2022 (The State vs. Ebinum Prosper), faced a significant setback during the 2020 EndSARS protests. Court documents and exhibits that had already been tendered were destroyed in a fire, with the matter having reached the address stage.
Following the establishment of the Kwale Criminal Division, the prosecution successfully applied for the case to be transferred back to its jurisdiction of origin for a fresh trial. The case file was subsequently reconstructed using certified true copies of processes obtained from the High Court Registry in Asaba.
The legal proceedings faced further delays after the prosecution closed its case, with the defence reportedly taking over a year to open its defence.
In his ruling, Justice Enemor held that the prosecution had successfully proven its case beyond a reasonable doubt, leading to the conviction and the subsequent sentence of death by hanging.
