Pastor, govt official to die for killing ex-commissioner in Imo

By Abdulwahab Abdulah

OWERRI— An Imo State High Court, sitting in Owerri, has sentenced an ex-Imo official, Boniface Nwachukwu, and one Pastor Vincent Ogueri to death for conspiring to kill a former commissioner in the state, Chief Ogbonnaya Uche in 2003.

The judgment, delivered six years after the accused were arraigned for murder, found them guilty and were subsequently sentenced  to death by hanging.

The court, presided over by Justice A. O. H. Ukachukwu, in its judgment, held that the accused persons were guilty on all the count leveled against them by taken “part in the planning and recruitment of the murderers as well as arranging the logistic for the murder. I, therefore, find both accused guilty of the murder of Chief Ogbonnaya Uche, a.k.a. OGB.”

The convicts were said to have conspired to mastermind the killing of Chief Uche in his Shell Camp Quarters, Owerri, 8 February , 2003.

In his judgement, Justice Ukachukwu said that there were cleared evidence to link the condemned men with the murder of the late Uche on the ground that both of them “took part in planning the murder of the deceased, Chief Ogbonnaya Uche, a.k.a, OGB.”

Reviewing the trial, the Judge resolved all the formulated issues by the defence counsel, including whether the prosecution proved its case beyond reasonable doubt  in favour of the prosecution by holding that there were evidences before the court which revealed the meeting of the minds of the accused persons and others at large to carry out the dastardly act  of murder of their victim.

In resolving whether the trial of the 1st accused in his absence was right in law and whether from the totality of the evidence in this case the prosecution has proved its case, formulated by counsel to the first accused, the court resolved: “ My view is that the learned counsel to the accused did not advert his attention to the proceedings of 23 November 2005 and 6 July 2006 when the 1st accused paralyzed the proceeding of this court by his violent abusive behaviour and of 24 July 2006 when he refused to be produced in court. That was during he evidence of the PW1 which started 8 March 2005. I find that the 1st accused was properly put away in compliance with the law.”

In resolving issue No 2, the court held : “The case of the prosecution against the 2nd accused is that he procured, organised and conspired with the 1st accused and others still at large to commit the crime. The prosecution testified that the 2nd accused took part in the search for the procurement of a gun. The same is contained in the statements of the 1st accused. The 2nd accused admitted the search for a gun but claimed that he needed it for his use after the robbery experience.

“It is evidenced that none of the accused or his two neighbours who shot to scare away robbers reported the incident to the police or anybody in the community for that matter.”

The court finally established that despite the fact that the 1st accused said he was desirous of buying a gun to protect himself against armed robbers, he failed to continue with the search five months after the assassination of the deceased. It corroborated the evidence of the two convicts and held that they were guilty as charged.