By Izunna Okafor, Awka
Barely seven years after, justice has finally caught up with a commercial tricycle operator in Anambra State as a High Court sitting in the state sentenced him to death by hanging for his role and involvement in the killing of a passenger during a failed robbery operation.
The convict, Makuachukwu Ezike, was found guilty by the court presided over by Justice Lauretta Oyeka over the death of one Jude Onwuegbuchunam, an indigene of Umuoji in Idemili North Local Government Area, who lost his life after being pushed out of a moving tricycle by members of a notorious “one-chance” robbery gang.
According to reports, the incident occurred on November 17, 2019, along the Oba–Obosi–Nkpor–Umuoji Road shortly after the victim boarded what appeared to be a commercial tricycle, unaware that it was allegedly being used by criminals to prey on unsuspecting passengers for One-Chance robbery.
Court proceedings revealed that Ezike, alongside two accomplices who are still on the run, allegedly disguised themselves as a tricycle operator and passengers before luring the victim into the tricycle on that fateful day.
However, during the journey, the criminal gang in the tricycle reportedly attempted to dispossess the passenger (Mr. Onwuegbuchunam) of his mobile phone and other valuables. However, when he resisted their demands and raised an alarm, the attackers allegedly resorted to violence.
Further into the tragedy and in a desperate attempt to silence the victim and evade arrest, the criminal gang reportedly pushed him out of the moving tricycle at high speed near Abidi Hall in Umuoji, immediately they sighted some local vigilante operatives stationed along the road.
This immediately prompted the vigilantes to chase after the fleeing suspects. Although the gang initially escaped, they abandoned the tricycle during the chase before disappearing from the area.
Luck, however, ran out on Ezike the following day when he reportedly returned to recover the abandoned tricycle. He was subsequently apprehended by vigilante operatives who handed him over to the police for investigation.
According to reports, investigators later obtained a confession from the suspect, while evidence gathered during the inquiry linked him to the crime.
Meanwhile, the victim, who sustained severe injuries from the fall, reportedly battled for survival for two days before eventually succumbing to the severe injuries and pains he suffered from the attack.
Speaking during the trial, the prosecution presented five witnesses, including the medical doctor who conducted the post-mortem examination. The medical evidence established that the injuries sustained by the deceased in the incident were directly responsible for his death.
Although the defence team argued that there was no eyewitness account directly linking the defendant to the killing, the court held that criminal convictions are not based solely on eyewitness testimony.
In her judgment, Justice Oyeka explained that the law also recognizes confessional statements and circumstantial evidence as valid grounds for conviction where such evidence points clearly and irresistibly to the guilt of the accused.
The court noted that the chain of evidence presented before it, including the abandoned tricycle, the suspect’s conduct after the incident, his confession, and the medical findings, formed a compelling and unbroken link connecting him to the crime.
Describing the evidence as overwhelming, the court found Ezike guilty of murder and subsequently sentenced him to death by hanging.
The judgment is expected to serve as a warning to criminal elements who use commercial transportation, especially tricycles, as a cover for robbery and other violent crimes in Anambra State.
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