JUSTICE: Man Sentenced to Death for Brutal Murder of Student in Owerri

A member of the now defunct Bakassi Vigilante Group (BVG) has been found guilty of murdering a student of the Federal University of Technology, Owerri, and sentenced to death by a High Court in Aba.

hangingThe murderer, Kalu Ukeje, a.k.a. Aka Ogbungwangwa will die by hanging.

Justice Linda Abai said the prosecution was able to prove that Kalu was guilty of the murder of Sunday Nwadike in 2009.

Kalu was arraigned in 2009 alongside his alleged accomplices, Kingsley Ibegbulam and Uchenna Donatus for murder. However, on January 30, 2013, Kingsley Ibegbulam and Uchenna Donatus were discharged after a no case submission made on their behalf was upheld by the court.

One of the witnesses had testified before the court that Kalu killed his victim with a machete and set him ablaze. The witness further narrated that other members of the BVG shot sporadically into the air to scare away people who attempted to rescue the victim.

“There is only one punishment for the offence of murder under our law, which is death. Having found the accused guilty of the offence of murder under Section 319 of the Criminal Code, he is hereby sentenced to death by hanging,” Justice Linda Abai said in her ruling.

Mr. Nwadike, the father of the deceased, expressed satisfaction with the ruling, saying that justice has finally prevailed after four years of legal battle.

“He was a 100 level student of petro-chemical engineering when the incident occurred, but due to the wickedness of another man, he couldn’t live to see his dreams come through. He would have been a graduate this year had it been he was not killed. Now, we are going to start making arrangements for his burial, believing that his soul will finally rest in peace,” he said.