By Isharo Odafe
A Delta State High Court sitting in Kwale has sentenced a 24-year-old man, Ebinum Prosper, to death by hanging for the murder of his classmate, Ojieh Chibogu, in Ugiliama Community.
The judgment was delivered on Monday by Justice F. Enemor of High Court 2, Kwale, after the court found the defendant guilty of murder.
Prosecuting counsel, Mrs. Catherine O. Onoberhie-Oberuomo, an Assistant Director in the Delta State Ministry of Justice, told the court that the incident occurred on June 29, 2016, in Ugiliama Community, Kwale. She stated that the defendant stabbed the deceased with a knife following a misunderstanding, resulting in his death.
The case, filed under Suit No. HCK/89C/2022 — State vs. Ebinum Prosper — was initially handled in Asaba. However, during the 2020 EndSARS protests, court documents and exhibits already tendered were destroyed in a fire incident while the matter was at the address stage.
Following the establishment of the Kwale Criminal Division, the prosecution applied for the case to be transferred back to Kwale for a fresh trial (trial de novo), as the offence originated from the area. Certified true copies of processes from the original case file were obtained from the High Court Registry in Asaba to reconstruct the duplicate file and facilitate the transfer.
After the prosecution closed its case, the defence took more than a year to open its defence.
In his judgment, Justice Enemor held that the prosecution proved its case beyond reasonable doubt. He consequently convicted Ebinum Prosper of murder and sentenced him to death by hanging.
