By Lucky Uto
A Delta State High Court sitting in Kwale has sentenced 24-year-old Ebinum Prosper to death by hanging for killing his classmate, Ojieh Chibogu.
Justice F. Enemor of High Court 2, Kwale, delivered the judgment on Monday after finding the defendant guilty of murder.
The court ruled that the prosecution proved the case beyond reasonable doubt.
The incident happened on June 29, 2016, in Ugiliama Community, Kwale, Delta State. During the trial, the prosecution, led by Mrs. Catherine O. Onoberhie-Obereruomo of the Delta State Ministry of Justice, told the court that the defendant stabbed the deceased with a knife after a misunderstanding, leading to his death.
The case, marked Suit No. HCK/89C/2022 (State vs. Ebinum Prosper), was first filed in Asaba. However, during the 2020 EndSARS protests, court documents and exhibits were destroyed in a fire incident while the matter was awaiting final address.
After the Kwale Criminal Division was created, the prosecution applied for the case to be transferred back to Kwale, where the crime occurred.
Certified true copies of the court documents were later obtained from the High Court Registry in Asaba to rebuild the case file.
Following the close of the prosecution’s case, the defence took more than a year to open its case before the court finally delivered its judgment.
With the ruling, the court brought an end to the long-running trial that began nearly a decade ago.
