A Benin high court has sentenced one Kalejaiye Ola to death by hanging for shooting to death one Paul Erimafa with his AK-47 service rifle on the 23rd of June 2003 at Central Road in Benin City, the Edo State capital.
Roland Amaize who handed down the judgment on Monday, held that the action of Mr Ola, a police sergeant, was pre-meditated and not a case of accidental discharge as offered by the convict.
He said the convict had initially reported a case of armed robbery against the deceased which was later discovered to be false, adding that there was no justification for the convict to have shot and killed the deceased who was harmless as at the time of the incident.
Mr Amaize further held that there were contradictions in the convict's extra-judicial statement and his oral testimony in court.
Overwhelming evidence
According to him, there was evidence from the police doctor who performed a post-mortem on the corpse showing damaged urinary bladder and profuse bleeding which led to the death of the victim.
The court held that the evidence of one of the expert prosecution witnesses on the handling of arms and ammunitions showed that AK-47 rifle was at the safety catche when the incident occurred.
Mr Amaize also held that the evidence of another prosecution witness present at the scene of crime as at the time of the murder was not challenged. On the whole, the court held that the prosecution proved the case of murder against the convict beyond reasonable doubts as stated by law.
Mr Amaize, therefore, sentenced the convicted Mr Ola to death by hanging under section 319 of the Criminal Code.
Comments