Some inmates
on death row in Lagos State prisons face imminent execution, among whom is the
General-Overseer of the Christian Praying Assembly, Chukwuemeka
Ezeugo, a.k.a
Rev. King
The State
Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Adeniji Kazeem, who made this
known at a news conference, on Tuesday, said the development was at the instruction
of Governor Akinwunmi Ambode.
He said that
the state had begun reviewing the matter after prison officials complained of
the highhandedness of some death row inmates who felt that they had certain
rights which excluded them from being executed.
The
Attorney-General assured that, unlike previous administrations, Governor Ambode
would sign the necessary documents to execute those on death row.
A PM News
report quoted Kazeem saying “Very soon, you will see the action of this
government on that issues, we are reviewing the case on Rev. King and others on
death row.
He added,
“Lots of people are on death row, Rev. 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 their concerns.
“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.”
The Supreme
Court had on February 27, 2016 affirmed the death sentence passed on King by
the Appeal Court.
The
condemned cleric was arraigned before the Lagos High Court in Ikeja on
September 26, 2006, on six counts of murder of a member of his church, Ann
Uzoh, and attempted murder of five other members.
He was said
to have poured petrol on the deceased and the five other victims and set them
on fire for allegedly committing fornication.
Uzoh died on
August 2, 2006, 11 days after the incident, as a result of the injuries which
she sustained from the burns.
She was said
to have been 65 per cent burnt in the fire incident. The trial judge, Justice
Olubunmi Oyewole (now a Justice of the Court of Appeal), had in his judgement
delivered on January 11, 2007, convicted Ezeugo and sentenced him to 20 years
imprisonment on each of the five counts of attempted murder and death sentence
for murder.
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