Chinedum Treasure
A middle-aged man, Silas Uwa has been sentenced to life imprisonment by High Court sitting in Awka, Anambra state for killing his uncle, Mr Nweke Eziokwu, over a land dispute.
Justice Okechukwu Nwabunike convicted Uwa on Monday, after finding him guilty of manslaughter.
The prosecution told the court that the defendant and the deceased were involved in a dispute over ownership of a parcel of land at Ebenebe, Awka North Local Government Area of Anambra.
It said the kindred had adjudged the land to belong to the deceased, a decision which the defendant and his siblings rejected.
According to the prosecution, rather than seek legal redress, the defendant confronted his uncle on his farm, engaged him in a fight and hacked him to death with a machete.
The prosecution, led by Mr Ifeanyi Oguejiofor, Chief State Counsel, with Mrs Ijeoma Ugboaja, Principal State Counsel, called four witnesses, including the Investigating Police Officer, to establish its case.
The defence raised the plea of self-defence and argued that the prosecution failed to prove murder beyond reasonable doubt, citing the absence of an eyewitness account.
In his judgment, Justice Nwabunike held that murder could be established through direct eyewitness evidence, a confessional statement or circumstantial evidence.
He ruled that although there was no direct eyewitness account, the prosecution had established through credible circumstantial evidence that the defendant killed the deceased.
The judge also rejected the plea of self-defence but convicted Uwa of the lesser offence of manslaughter and sentenced him to life imprisonment.
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