Anambra court death sentence verdict sees tricycle rider condemned to death for murdering a passenger during a failed robbery in Umuoji

Anambra State High Court Judge Justice Lauretta Oyeka has sentenced commercial tricycle rider Makua Ezike to death by hanging after finding him guilty of murdering Jude Onwuegbuchunam during a failed robbery operation along the Oba-Obosi-Nkpor-Umuoji Road in 2019.

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The judgment followed a lengthy trial in which prosecutors established that Ezike and two accomplices, who remain at large, used a tricycle to operate a “one-chance” robbery scheme targeting unsuspecting passengers.

According to court records, the incident occurred on November 17, 2019, when Onwuegbuchunam, an indigene of Umuoji in Idemili North Local Government Area, boarded the tricycle.

The court heard that Ezike and his accomplices, posing as legitimate passengers and a commercial rider, attempted to rob the victim of his mobile phone and other valuables while en route.

When Onwuegbuchunam resisted and raised an alarm, the attackers allegedly pushed him from the moving tricycle near Abidi Hall in Umuoji.

Vigilante operatives stationed in the area reportedly pursued the suspects immediately after the incident. During the chase, Ezike abandoned the tricycle and fled alongside the other gang members.

The prosecution told the court that Ezike returned to retrieve the abandoned vehicle the following day and was arrested by vigilante operatives before being handed over to the police.

Investigators said Ezike subsequently confessed to his involvement in the crime.

Onwuegbuchunam sustained severe injuries from the fall and died two days later.

During the trial, the prosecution presented five witnesses, including the medical doctor who conducted the post-mortem examination. The doctor testified that the victim’s death resulted directly from injuries sustained after being pushed from the moving tricycle.

The defence argued that there was no eyewitness who directly witnessed the act of pushing the victim from the vehicle.

However, Justice Oyeka ruled that criminal convictions could be secured through direct evidence, confessional statements or compelling circumstantial evidence.

The judge described the evidence against Ezike as powerful and overwhelming, citing the abandoned tricycle, his flight from the scene, his subsequent confession and the medical findings linking the victim’s injuries to his death.

Justice Oyeka held that the chain of evidence left no reasonable doubt about Ezike’s culpability and consequently convicted him of murder.

The court thereafter sentenced him to death by hanging.

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Authorities said investigations remain ongoing to apprehend the two other suspects who allegedly participated in the robbery operation and remain at large.