The death of the four young UNIPORT students showed how cheap human life is being viewed by certain people. The sentence against the convicts should teach everybody that human life should be respected as the utmost value of God, the creator…
A Port Harcourt High Court has, Monday, sentenced an ex-Police Sergeant, Lucky Orji and two other persons, Ikechukwu Louis Amadi and David Chinasa Ogbada, to death over the gruesome lynching of four students of the University of Port Harcourt,(UNIPORT, in Aluu, Ikwerre Local Government Area of the state in 2012.
The four students were Ugonna Obuzor(19) Tekena Elkanah (23) Lloyd Tokwu Mike(22) and Chiadika Biringa(23). The students were lynched at Umokiri Aluu, a University community on October 5, 2012 for alleged stealing of mobile handset phones and laptop.
The presiding Judge, Justice Nyordee, however, discharged and acquitted four other persons; Abiodun Yusuf, Joshua Ikpe, Abang Cyril, and John Ayuwu who were jointly sued with the convicts in the eight counts of conspiracy to felony and murder.
In his judgement which lasted for over two hours, Justice Nyordee said that the confessional statements by two of the convicted persons, chukwu and David aligned with the video evidence played in the court which clearly recorded how they all played roles in murder of the four students. Justice Nyordee said that their offence was capital and liable to death sentence.
He, however, discharged and acquitted Abiodun, Joshua, Cyril, and John, on the grounds that the prosecution failed to prove their direct involvement in the criminal act. Justice Nyordee noted that the circumstances that led to their death at the early hours of the fateful day was most condemnable, stressing that the victims did not consider the insecurity situation in the area before they went out to demand for their money at a very late hour from one Bright (now at large) who raised the alarm that led to their death.
Justice Nyordee lamented that C4I, JTF, and Aluu police posts could not combine their intelligence to the rescue of the victims who were burnt to death after they were paraded round the community naked.
He said that the death of the four young four UNIPORT students showed how cheap human life was considered even when a report was made, adding that the sentence should teach everybody that human life should be respected as the utmost value of God the creator.
The counsels to the defendants had earlier pleaded that the court should temper justice with mercy and asked that the court should reduce the punishment of the convict, following 1st convict’s status as a married man with two wives and father of many children.
The submissions of the counsels did not hold water as they were countered by the prosecution in the matter, the Director of the State Public Prosecution, Otorubio, who urged that the court should discountenance the submission, stating that the punishment for murder, on conviction, was death.
“They should consider the victims that were killed, especially one of them who was the only son of his family,”
the prosecution stated. Earlier, 12 persons, including the Paramount Ruler of Aluu community Alhaji, Hassan Welewa, were arraigned for the murder of the four youths but Alhaji Welewa and four others got their charges reduced to negligence to wit Felony and were later discharged and acquitted last January.
