Ebonyi Court Sentences Man to Death For Killing 18-Year-Old Student
An Izzi High Court sitting in Ebonyi State, has sentenced a 30-year-old man to death by hanging for killing an 18-year-old Senior Secondary School (SS2) student, after the deceased revealed their homo-sexual relationship.
The convict Boniface Abraham Edigbo, killed the deceased identified as Ogbonna Joshua, on Tuesday, May 23, 2023, by poisoning him in a hotel after their last sexual encounter on the night of Monday, May 22, 2023.
Delivering judgement on the matter at the weekend, Justice Ruth Okeh found Boniface Abraham Edigbo guilty of the offence and sentenced him to death by hanging.
The court ruled that the judgement will serve as a deterrent to others, who have been committing such heinous crimes in society
The deceased until his death was a student of Community Secondary School Amachi in Izzi Local Government Area of the state.
Findings revealed that the convict has been in relationship with the deceased since 2021, where both of them made covenant not to reveal the relationship to anyone.
However, Ogbonna Joshua (the deceased) started experiencing anal problems, and reported to the principal of the school and some students thereby making the matter a public knowledge.
The defendant then lured the boy to Edigbo Guest House, where they spent the night of Monday, May 22, 2023.
On the morning of Tuesday, May 23, he brought out a Fanta drink and Sniper insecticide, added the Sniper to the Fanta, and gave it to the boy, who drank it and died.
After the boy died, Edigbo left the hotel, reported the matter to a woman explaining that he had no intention to kill the boy but acted because the deceased revealed their homo-sexual relationship to others.
The woman told Edigbo to wait while she went to get money for him to leave the state, but instead reported the incident to the youths of the community.
The youths swiftly apprehended him and took him back to Edigbo Guest House, where they found the boy in room 006 lying lifeless.
Reacting to the ruling, the prosecuting counsel, Mrs Ijeoma Mike-Ajanwachukwu, hailed the judgement.
