A 28-year-old man, Joseph Fekala, has been sentenced to death by hanging over the murder of 25-year-old Kate Oguoh.
Fekala was arrested in July 2022 after he strangled Kate to death over a dispute regarding ₦50,000 that the deceased had given to him, and buried her corpse in his room at Okaka, Yenagoa, Bayelsa State capital.
After a three-year trial, Justice Ineikade Eradiri of the Bayelsa State High Court found Fekala guilty of three out of the four count charges against him.
He was found guilty of murder, misconduct in handling of corpse and burial in an unlicensed place contrary to the criminal code of Bayelsa State, but was discharged and acquitted of stealing.
Ruling in a judgment that lasted three hours over the weekend, Justice Eradiri dismissed the defence arguments of insanity, provocation and self-defence.
According to him, the defendant was to discharge the burden of insanity, but the two witnesses he called were unable to convince the Court that the action of killing the deceased was due to insanity.
Justice Eradiri stated that, contrary to the argument of the defence counsel, the defendant in Exhibits 1 and 2 tendered and admitted by the Court indicated that he was in control and knew what he was doing.
On the plea by the defence counsel that he should be convicted and sentenced for manslaughter, the Court held that the plea cannot be sustained because the offence he was charged with cannot be substituted.
“The plea for a lesser offence cannot be sustained. After reviewing the evidence before the Court, I find no grounds to convict the defendant for manslaughter. I therefore find the accused guilty of murder and convict him of counts 1, 2, and 3.”
Justice Eradiri ruled that the prosecution had proved its case beyond reasonable doubt and directed the Court Clerk to explain to the defendant that the Court had found him guilty of three counts.
In his allocutus, Fekala knelt in the dock and pleaded with the Court to temper justice with mercy, pointing out that he is a Christian and peace-loving man who had followed the words of his late mother never to have a problem with a woman.
He pleaded with the family of the deceased to forgive him and the Court to pardon him for the murder.
Justice Eradiri, before handing down the sentence, stated that he has no discretion on the sentence for murder.
“I shall not pronounce sentence for counts 2 and 3, that should be left for your conscience. For murder, I have no discretion. The punishment for murder in section 247 of the criminal code of the laws of Bayelsa State is death. I hereby sentence you to death by hanging till you die. May God have mercy on your soul.”
The parents of the deceased, Mr and Mrs Theophilus Oguoh, expressed satisfaction with the judgment and commended the judiciary for being firm.
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