- Lagos State wades into the fate of Reverend King
It would appear that things are happening on death row; condemned convicts are beginning to imagine that things are not what they are. For clarification, the Lagos State Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Adeniji Kazeem, said at a press conference on April 18 that prison authorities informed him that ”some of the convicts on death row are beginning to think they have some rights.” He told reporters: ”We are going to move in that direction. You will hear from me.”
Kazeem stated that the Lagos State government would soon take action on 202 condemned prisoners, and specifically mentioned the case of the General Overseer of the Christian Praying Assembly, Rev. Chukwuemeka Ezeugo, better known as Rev. King. He said: “This government is very strong on law and order. And the case is one of those that are under review. Like him, many others are on death row. And very soon, residents of Lagos will see the action of the government on it. He added: “I know that many had zeroed in on Rev. King. I discussed his issue actively with the prison authorities during my recent prison visit and it was on the instruction of Governor Akinwunmi Ambode. That showed that it is a sensitive issue.’
Indeed, there is a serious problem when prisoners lawfully sentenced to death remain endlessly on death row because of the tentativeness of the political authorities. A Nigerian Prisons Service spokesman was quoted as saying that there were no fewer than 1,639 inmates awaiting execution across the country, which contributed to prison congestion. This overpopulation is inexcusable. As long as the death penalty is accommodated by the country’s justice system, there is no justification for keeping condemned convicts waiting.
It is complex enough to arrive at a death decision, and the complexity should not be further complicated by last-minute indecision when it comes to executing the decision. If judges are able to reach a death decision without the interference of extra-judicial considerations, the political authorities should be able to carry out the decision without the hindrance of extra-legal considerations.
In the particular case of Rev. King, which the commissioner mentioned, he is still alive over a year after what was supposed to be the final judicial pronouncement on his case. Reportedly behind bars in the Northeast, he was said to have been “moved from Abuja owing to incessant visits by his followers.” Such visits were obviously a result of the delay in carrying out his execution.
King’s trial began at the Lagos High Court in Ikeja on September 26, 2006. The cleric was accused of the murder of a member of his church, Ann Uzoh, and attempted murder of five other members. He was said to have set the deceased and the others ablaze after bathing them with petrol for alleged immoral behaviour.
Uzoh died from her burns on August 2, 2006, 11 days after the savagery. The trial judge, Justice Olubunmi Oyewole (now a Justice of the Court of Appeal), who delivered his judgement on January 11, 2007, found King guilty and sentenced him to 20 years imprisonment for attempted murder. In addition, King got a death sentence for murder. The Court of Appeal backed the death sentence. The Supreme Court, by its supreme judgment on February 26, 2016, supported the supreme sentence of death by hanging.
Indeed, the debate about the death penalty did not begin today, and it is unlikely to end today. Philosophical arguments against capital punishment tend to suggest that mankind has perhaps evolved beyond the death sentence. The question is: What should be done when the law of the land prescribes death for particular crimes?
In the final analysis, it remains to be seen how Lagos State, which prides itself on its modernity, would deal with the congestion on death row. As a newspaper, we are opposed to death sentence. Considering the absence of consensus on capital punishment, it may well be that the country needs to revisit the enabling law.
