By innocnt anaba
LAGOS—The Court of Appeal sitting in Lagos, yesterday, adjourned till May 3 for definite hearing of the appeal by the General Overseer of the Christian Praying Assembly, Lagos, Rev. Emeka Ezeugo, a.k.a. Rev King.

Rev. King is praying the appellate court to upturn the death sentence passed on him by a Lagos High Court sitting in Ikeja, for killing a member of his church.

Prosecuting counsel at the resumed hearing in the matter, yesterday, noted that the matter, though slated for hearing, should be adjourned to enable parties regularise their processes as they just discovered that the appellant had filed another 60-page brief to which the prosecution would want to respond.

Counsel to Rev. King did not oppose the application, following which it was granted by the court.

Convicted
Rev. King, it will be recalled was convicted in January 2007 for killing a member of his church, Miss Ann Uzor Ezeugo.
He is asking the Court of Appeal to set aside the death sentence imposed on him by the lower court.

He is also urging the court to order his discharge and acquittal from the counts levelled against him.
King in the appeal, is contending that the trial judge erred in law by assuming jurisdiction over the case when the six-count charge against him was not dated and that the trial judge failed to consider the adduced evidence in relation to all the counts and to make a finding on whether each count had been proved beyond reasonable doubt.

He is further contending that the trial judge erred in law when he held that the prosecution had proved beyond reasonable doubt the fire incident that occurred on the night of Saturday, July 22, 2006; and that the convict planned to kill the burnt victims, who are his church members, by setting them on fire.

According to him, based on expert opinion it was impossible for him to pour petrol on the late Ann Uzoh King as alleged by the prosecution without getting burnt.

He is further contending that the trial judge, erred in law in believing and accepting the evidence led by the prosecution (Lagos State Ministry of Justice) before considering the evidence led by the defence.