IMO: 33-yr-old man bags death sentence for conspiring to kill his employer

For conspiring to kill his employer, Mr. Ndubuisi Chukwu, a 33-year-old man identified as Mr. Nathaniel John has been sentenced to death by an Okigwe High Court.

The convict in a suit with the number HO/3c/2014, was accused of committing the offence, contrary to Section 324 of the Criminal Code Cap 30 Vol. II Laws of Eastern Nigeria, as applicable in Imo State.

After over half an hour of judgment, it was the considered opinion of the presiding judge Benjamin C. Iheka, that the fact of death of Ndubuisi Chukwu was not challenged by the defence.

“Although the body of Ndubuisi Chukwu was not recovered, the law remains trite that in the absence of the body of the deceased, where there is strong evidence that the person is dead,the court will be justified in finding the accused liable accordingly,” Iheka said.

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The presiding judge also summed up that based on the unchallenged evidence brought before the court by the prosecutor, it was proven beyond reasonable doubt that John committed the crime.

“The prosecution led evidence and proved that the deceased, Ndubuisi Chukwu, was seen last with the accused and the driver, Musa Hadeija, on April 29, 2013, when they left Okigwe for a business trip to Port Harcourt, in the course of which the deceased was killed.

“Upon this proven fact, the law presumes that the person last seen with the deceased, bears full responsibility for his death,” Iheka added.

It was also found by the presiding judge that John conspired with his employer’s driver to kill him and share the proceeds from the sale of the diesel and the tanker truck.

“I find the accused guilty of the offence of murder of Ndubuisi Chukwu as charged, and I convict him accordingly.

“The sentence of the court upon you is that you be hanged by the neck until you be dead and may the Lord have mercy on your soul,” Justice Iheka said.

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