Three years after he callously killed a
three year old girl Kausarat Muritala in
cold blood in Lagos, Justice Olabisi
Akinlade of the Lagos High Court in
Ikeja yesterday sentenced ex-police
corporal, Ikechukwu Nwabueze to death
by hanging.
Justice Akinlade handed down the verdict
after reviewing the fact of the case,
according to her, the weight of evidence
before the court showed that Nwabueze had
the intention to kill.
It will be recalled that Nwabueze was alleged
to have in April 2009 shot at a car in which
the parents, the three-year old Kausarat, and
her siblings were commuting at Oba Nle Aro
Bus Stop, Alapere, Ketu.
The condemned man and his colleagues took
to their heels when they discovered that the
there was a fatality.
However, they were later arrested, while
Nwabueze who was later dismissed from the
Police Force, was said to have confessed
during investigation that he shot dead the
deceased little girl.
The convict, however, recanted during trial,
maintaining that he was coerced to make the
confessional statement by the police officer
who investigated the case.
The condemned man also claimed that he
was not the only one that fired shots into the
air and that other members of his team also
did same.
The court pointed out some inconsistencies in
the testimony of Nwabueze while also holding
that a recanted confessional statement does
not necessarily cancel its relevance.
“It is trite law that the confessional statement
of a defendant is relevant regardless of the
fact that it is recanted. It is also trite that a
person can be convicted on the basis of the
confessional statement.
“It is my opinion that the evidence of P1 is
consistent with the testimonies of PW 2 and
PW 3.”
The judge further held that the testimonies of
the prosecution witnesses were not
discredited during cross-examination unlike
that of the defence.
According to her “By his training as a police
officer he (Nwabueze) cannot claim ignorance
of the probable consequences of shooting at
the vehicle.
“I therefore hold that the defendant had
intention to kill or cause bodily harm to the
occupants of the car. I find the defendant
guilty as charged.”
After court reached it decision, counsel to the
defendant, A.O. Omodele made an allocutus
(plea for mercy) for the convict, urging the
judge to temper justice with mercy on the
grounds that he was at his duty post when
the offence was committed and that he was a
first offender. He also said that he was a
young man who was yet to be married and
had a lot to contribute to the nation.
But, the Lagos State Director of Public
Prosecution, Mrs. Olabisi Ogungbesan
opposed Omodele’s plea.
She said: “We do not have enough records of
the defendant. Notwithstanding, the menace
of police in releasing bullets recklessly on
innocent citizens should be discouraged.
While passing out her sentence the court
held that it is not convinced of any reason
why it should show some leniency.
She therefore pronounced: “The sentence of
the court upon you is that that you be hung
on the neck until you are dead. And may God
have mercy on your soul.”
