The Anambra State High Court sitting in Oba has sentenced a commercial tricycle operator, Makuachukwu Ezike, to death by hanging for the murder of a passenger during a robbery operation commonly known as “one chance.”
Delivering judgment, Justice Lauretta Oyeka found Ezike guilty of murdering Jude Onwuegbuchunam, a native of Umuoji in Anambra State.
The court held that the evidence presented by the prosecution established the defendant’s involvement in the crime. Justice Oyeka cited the abandoned tricycle, the defendant’s attempt to flee, his voluntary confessional statement, and medical evidence linking the victim’s death to injuries sustained during the incident.
According to the prosecution, led by L.N. Umeozulu, the crime occurred on November 17, 2019, along the Oba–Obosi–Nkpor–Umuoji Road. Ezike and two accomplices, who remain at large, allegedly posed as commercial transport operators and picked up Onwuegbuchunam as a passenger.
The prosecution told the court that the suspects attempted to rob the victim of his mobile phone and other valuables while the tricycle was in motion. When he resisted and raised an alarm, he was reportedly pushed out of the moving vehicle near Abidi Hall in Umuoji, an area where local vigilantes were stationed.
Onwuegbuchunam sustained serious injuries from the fall and died two days later.
The court heard that Ezike returned to the area the following day to retrieve the abandoned tricycle but was apprehended by vigilantes and subsequently handed over to the police.
During the trial, the prosecution called five witnesses, including the medical doctor who conducted the post-mortem examination. The doctor testified that the victim died from injuries suffered after being pushed from the moving tricycle.
Although the defence argued that there was no eyewitness account of the incident, Justice Oyeka ruled that a conviction could be based on circumstantial evidence and a confessional statement where such evidence proves guilt beyond reasonable doubt.
The court subsequently sentenced Ezike to death by hanging, while efforts to apprehend his alleged accomplices continue.
