Lagos Confirms Reverend King, Others to Be Executed

Tue, Apr 18, 2017 | By publisher


BREAKING NEWS, Judiciary


THE Lagos State government is set to execute Chukwuemeka Ezeugo aka Reverend King, general overseer of the Christian Praying Assembly. PM News reports on Tuesday, April 18 said that barring last minute change King and others on death row in Lagos prisons would be hanged very soon.

This was confirmed on Tuesday, April 18, by Adeniji Kazeem, attorney general and commissioner for Justice, Lagos State, at a ministerial press conference.

King has been incarcerated for many years and a Supreme Court has upheld the judgment of a lower court that he should be executed. Kazeem said: “Very soon, you will see the action of this government on that issue, we are reviewing the case on Rev. King and others on death roll.

“Lots of people are on death row, Reverend King is not the only one on death row, it is on the instruction of Ambode that I visited the prisons recently and I discuss the issue with the prison officials and they expressed concern.

“We are moving in that direction of signing. The prison officials said we need to look at that seriously. Those on death row are beginning to think they have some rights. We are going to move in that direction, you will hear from me, but I will not tell you the exact date.”

Ezeugo was arraigned on September 26, 2006 on a six-count charge of attempted murder and murder. He pleaded not guilty to the allegation but was sentenced to death by the then Justice Joseph Oyewole of the Lagos state high court, Ikeja, on January 11, 2007, for the murder of Ann Uzoh, one of his church members.

The Lagos State government had said that the convict poured petrol on the deceased and five other persons and that Uzoh died on August 2, 2006 – 11 days after the act was perpetrated on her.

Specifically, Ezeugo was convicted and sentenced to 20 years imprisonment for the attempted murder, and death by hanging for the offence of murder.

Dissatisfied, he challenged the verdict before the court of appeal in Lagos, but the appeal was thrown out.

Dissatisfied still, he approached the Supreme Court. In a lead judgement by Justice Sylvester Ngwuta, on February 26, 2016 the Supreme Court upheld the death sentence passed by the Lagos and appellate courts. Ngwuta then ruled that the facts against King were “like what you see in a horror movie.” He added that the appeal lacked merit.

The general overseer of the CPA in Lagos was sentenced to death by a Lagos high court after he was arraigned on September 26, 2006 on a six-count charge of attempted murder and murder. The controversial general overseer of the CPA in Lagos was initially sentenced to death by a Lagos high court after he was arraigned on September 26, 2006 on a six-count charge of attempted murder and murder. King had poured petrol on Ann Uzoh and five other members of his church and set them on fire. While Uzoh died, the others sustained serious injuries. King was convicted and sentenced to death by hanging for the murder charge and 20 years imprisonment for the attempted murder charges.

—  Apr 18, 2017 @ 17:32 GMT


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