The Supreme Court has upheld the judgment of the Court of Appeal, which handed down a death sentence on three members of the Bakassi Boys vigilante group in 2006.
The defendants / appellants;Â Emmanuel Eze, Adiele Ndubuisi and Stanley Azuogu were convicted on charges of murder of two persons by the High Court of Abia State on February 26, 2006 and were consequently sentenced to death.
Not satisfied, the defendants separately approached the Court of Appeal to upturn the decision of the trial court.
“There are a few things that were wrong with that line of defence.
“First of all, it was more of implicating the Abia State Government in the offence they have committed rather than a valid defence in law.
“Secondly, the learned trial judge, C.L Ubaraje, as he then was, debunked his insinuation that the Abia State Government had a hand in the killing of the deceased persons.
“Finally and more importantly, the defence of provocation to avail the appellant, there must be something said or done by the deceased persons in his presence which caused the appellant to suddenly and temporarily lose his passion and self-control.
“In other words, the appellant said he was incited by the Abia State Government to kill the two deceased persons who did not do or say anything to him to him or other Bakassi boys before they were savagely killed cannot amount to provocation and his attempt to convince this court otherwise failed woefully.
“The respondent (the prosecution – Abia State Government) is right.
“The appellant embarked on a futile journey of proving provocation which does not arise in this case as the testimony of the prosecution witnesses confirmed that the appellant and his cohorts committed the said charge with utmost dispatch and babarity without any provocation or incitement. “This appeal totally lacks merit and is dismissed.â€