Posted by By OLA AGBAJE and LUKMAN OLABIYI on
Founder and General Overseer of the Christian Praying Assembly (CPA) Reverend Chukwuemeka Ezeuko (aka King) went gaga yesterday moments after he was sentenced to death by a Lagos High Court.
Founder and General Overseer of the Christian Praying Assembly (CPA) Reverend Chukwuemeka Ezeuko (aka King) went gaga yesterday moments after he was sentenced to death by a Lagos High Court.
King was found guilty by the court for the murder of Ann Uzor, a member of his church and also of attempt on the life of five others who he set ablaze on July 22, 2006.
A defiant King suddenly went wild few minutes after Justice Joseph Oyewole returned the verdict of guilty on him on all the six-count charge.
'I am not afraid to die. It is a privilege and honor for me to die by hanging. I am following in the footsteps of our Lord Jesus Christ. After all, he died on the cross by hanging," he thundered.
Shaking his head vigorously with his two red eyes bulging out of their sockets, thick bearded King said he was a victim of persecution, while declaring that it was nobody's business if he treated members of his church with iron hand.
'If I beat people in my church, it is nobody's business. The Bible says spare the rod and spoil the child," he declared.
The trial judge handed King 20 years sentence for each of the five-count charge of attempted murder while for the offence of murder he said: 'The sentence of the court upon you Chukwuemeka Ezeuko Alias Rev King is that you be hanged by the neck until you be dead and may the Lord have mercy on your soul."
Justice Oyewole, however, explained that the 20 years in five places 'shall run concurrently and shall only take effect if the sentence in respect of count six is commuted or otherwise set aside."
Before passing sentence on the convict, Justice Oyewole appraised the inherent danger of religious bigotry on the society.
'I have considered the entire circumstances of this case. Religious fundamentalism of the basest type that gave rise to the offences for which the accused was found guilty has never done any society any good. The variant demonstrated by the accused is a throw back to the dark ages and an assault to the gains attained by humanity in the areas of respect for human dignity, freedom and liberty.
'The Nigerian society is already bogged down with myriads of problems ranging from poverty to corruption which has rendered many of its vulnerable elements susceptible to the wares of religious highway men such as the accused person here, who offered them stone for bread and scorpion when they demand for fish," the judge said.
Earlier, before the commencement of proceedings, the entire court premises was brimming with stern-looking policemen and prison officials while the police bomb squad combed the court chamber before screening those who wanted to witness the epic judgment.
Spotting a neatly ironed pin-striped suit with cream coloured tie, King looking confident and calm was ushered into the courtroom by heavily armed security operatives at exactly 9.00a.m.
The Director of Public Prosecution, Mrs Efunbowale Gbadebo, led the prosecution team into the court while the trial judge entered the already jampacked courtroom at exactly 9.50 a.m and immediately commenced the judgment that lasted till 1.15 p.m.
In his evaluation of the cases of both the prosecution and the accused, Justice Oyewole reviewed the testimonies of various witnesses in order to determine their veracity or otherwise.
He disagreed with the defence witnesses including Joy Chinyere, Isioma Priscilla, Sister Blessing and the accused himself who testified as defence witness number 9.
Specifically, Justice Oyewole noted that the testimony of Chinyere suffered serious credibility deficiency as she was not at the scene of the crime while the revelation that she could neither remember the name of her Head of Department and the Vice Chancellor of the university she graduated from cast a slur on the credibility of her testimony.
Similarly, the court found absolutely incredible and untenable the evidence of Isioma that the victims set themselves on fire. The court described her testimony as fantasy, over- exaggerated and odious to reason.
On the testimony of King, Justice Oyewole noted that the convict tried to raise an alibi as his line of defence by claiming that he was not at the scene of the crime.
The court, however, held that the convict's alibi collapsed in the face of unimpeachable testimonies of the prosecution witnesses including Vivian Ezeocha, Olisa Chijena, Kelechi Chikere, Kosichukwu Ezenwankwo, who were all eyewitnesses to the crime.
As the judge was reeling out the inconsistencies and flaws in the defence witnesses' testimonies, King suddenly started sweating profusely in the dock. His slightly bald head became wet with perspiration. He brought out a white handkerchief to wipe off the sweat repeatedly.
Suddenly, he started shaking on his feet as if he was going to collapse. The eagle eyed warder and mobile policemen quickly helped him to sit down in the dock. A chilled bottled water was instantly offered to him. The convict opened it and gobbled the content before he could regain his composure.
As King was battling with sweat in spite of the several airconditioners in the courtroom, the trial judge did not mince words when he described him as cruel, conceited and coy, especially, his attitude to the family of the late Ann, who he did not bother to commiserate with.
'They called him Daddy! Daddy! Yet all he could think of was how to terminate their lives," the court held.
The trial judge held that, 'there is agreement that the death of the deceased came from severe burns.
'The burns injuries did not get to her by accident. The evidence before the court is that the accused ordered the petrol to be poured on her and other victims. The deceased died as a result of the injuries inflicted on her by the accused. It was obvious that the accused acted intentionally and with impunity."
Referring to the testimonies of Vivian who said that she was set ablaze along with the late Uzor, the court held that the defence failed to shake her testimonies while she was sober and occasionally broken down in tears, a reflection of the traumatic experience.
Vivian had given a graphic account of how King accused them of fornication and directed Kelechi to pour petrol on them while they were shouting 'Daddy! Daddy! Bikko! Bikko! (please! please)," while he replied, 'I will kill you all and throw you into the toilet and nobody will know!"
According to her, he eventually set them ablaze with matches brought by Kelechi.
Her evidence was corroborated by other eyewitnesses including Kelechi who narrated her pathetic experience in the church.
The court held that the testimonies of prosecution witnesses were truth and untainted while the evidence of the two medical experts - Medical Consultant at Faith City Hospital, Ajao Estate, where Ann died and the pathologist from Lagos State Teaching Hospital who carried out the autopsy, were accorded full evidential value.
Both confirmed to the court that Ann died of injures sustained as a result of severe burns technically described as 65 degrees burns and 70 per cent body surface burns which made her survival improbable.
At the end of the judgment, King was alone as his congregation practically deserted the court premises.