WAKE UP: Years after Supreme Court Verdict on Rev King, why the wait?

By Bashir Adefaka

“In such situation what is required to keep peace is fairness and equity offered by sincere administration of justice to ensure serenity and mutual respect among the people; who should be made to acknowledge how both classes of inhabitants are interdependent and therefore should not see themselves as better than the other. This is not achievable except by people with preparedness of mind to follow the rule of law even when it affects their own self interest.”

This subject matter about the General Overseer of the Christian Praying Assembly, Rev. Chukwuemeka Ezeugo, a.k.a Reverend King is apt because of the implication of continued drag of legs – by Lagos State Government – over the enforcement of his “death by hanging” verdict finally handed him on February 26, 2016 by the Supreme Court of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

Is it not surprising that governments of states of Nigeria happily make budgets for security claiming they want to protect lives and properties of innocent and law abiding citizens.  What is unacceptably surprising is that when they see those who are responsible for the security challenges and who the law say must die, they play politics with allowing the law to take its place.  The hypocrisy of this?  They swore at inauguration to uphold the Constitution and Sovereignty of the Federal Republic of Nigeria!

How is that explained? That the governor has human feeling or that he does not want the blood of any soul to be on his neck? Whichever is his reason is the very confirmation he is not competent to be leader of any society of people.

In a branch of philosophy there is a particular course that exposes such heads of government: Ethics and Society.  Ethics and Society sometimes is thought at the 100 level in the university as a 3-unit course.  It is not just interest, it is a course that should be undertaken by anybody who has aspired to become a leader of community or society of people.  It is as a result of diverse backgrounds and natures in the number of people that cohabit in the society that Ethics and Society becomes compulsory to prepare one for boldness in administering them.

In any society you have got the high and the low; the rich and the poor, the powerful and the weak, the male and the female, the opposing associational, religious, political and tribal groups one which may have one advantage over another and in such situation there is always the possibility that the advantaged want to oppress the disadvantaged.

In such situation what is required to keep peace is fairness and equity offered by sincere administration of justice to ensure serenity and mutual respect among the people; who should be made to acknowledge how both classes of inhabitants are interdependent and therefore should not see themselves as better than the other.

This is not achievable except by people with preparedness of mind to follow the rule of law even when it affects their own self interest.  That system he ensures in ensuring balanced, fairness and equity and equity for the peace of the society is what the administration of justice that Ethics and Society as branch knowledge in Philosophy seeks to teach. Under two semesters it is achievable and there is no person that has gone to school that is not taken through the periphery of or around this vital branch of knowledge, whether in the elementary secondary or university.  It is one of the reasons the Muhammadu Buhari Administration is laudable for reintroducing an all-inclusive Civic as a subject that would ensure the study of ethics, spiritual and morality as norm from secondary school level.

Now back to the main subject in the light of the aforestated, one seeks to know whether it is that the Lagos State Government that is responsible for the signing of death warrant of a man who has been condemned for long for causing death and religious terrorism in the land, Rev. King, does not know its duty or that the operators of the government just chose to use security of life and property as tool in political play.

This is important to know because there is no basis for this drag.  This law, both of God which is Sharia or canon or the one we self-make for ourselves much full of discrepancies as man-made law has been, is clear.  No life of human being must be taken except with justification as stipulated by the law.  Every politician who seeks to lead either as President or Governor always says “I will abide by the rule of law and enforce it without fear and favour” but enforcement of the Supreme Court verdict that Rev. King must die, what contravention is it to the Constitution after the apex court that is has the powers to give the final pronouncement on judicial matters has SPOKEN?

Channels Television is one of the recognised media organisations operating broadcasting journalism in Nigeria.  Among others, it aired on December 10, 2015 that the Supreme Court was decide Rev King’s fate on February 26, 2016 and the apex court actually did on said date: You Must Die! Screamed as reported in the media to have been the verdict. That was after the General Overseer of the Christian Praying Assembly, Rev. Chukwuemeka Ezeugo, a.k.a Reverend King, had filed an appeal before it challenging the judgement of a Lagos High Court sentencing him to death by hanging.

The apex court presided over by Justice Walter Onoghen adjourned for judgment after entertaining arguments from counsel to prosecution and defence in the matter.

Lagos State Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr Adeniji Kazeem, who appeared before the Supreme Court alongside the Director of Public Prosecution, Mrs Idowu Alakija and other Senior Counsel in the State, urged the court to dismiss the appeal and uphold the judgment of the lower courts.

Who would therefore not be surprised that a state government that has laboured hard and spent a lot on acquiring justice against a murderer would failed consistently to enforce justice when it got one.

Nobody wants to die and that is the essence of the law against murder, which was mentioned earlier that Ethics and Society as a branch of Philosophy is basically created to establish.  Reason Ezeugo, that is Rev King, never wanted to die but it was because he did not want to die that he would have respected the sanctity of the law by respecting the right to life of fellow human being as a “religious” leader.

He was arraigned on September 26, 2006 on a six-count charge of attempted murder and murder.

He pleaded not guilty to the allegation but was sentenced to death by the then Justice Joseph Oyewole of Lagos State High Court, Ikeja, on January 11, 2007 for the murder of one of his church members, Ann Uzoh.

Justice Oyewole later became a judge of the Appeal Court sitting in the Calabar Division as at 2015 when Ezeogu had moved to Court of Appeal and finally Supreme Court to have his death sentenced stopped.

The Lagos State Government had said that the convict poured petrol on the deceased and five other persons and that Uzoh died on August 2, 2006; 11 days after the act was perpetrated on her.

Specifically, Ezeugo was convicted and sentenced to 20 years imprisonment for the attempted murder and death by hanging for the offence of murder.

Dissatisfied, Ezeugo challenged the verdict before the Court of Appeal in Lagos, but the appeal was thrown out.

“I hereby rule that the prosecution effectively discharged the burden of proof on it. This appeal is devoid of any basis and accordingly fails.

“The judgment of the High Court is hereby affirmed, and the conviction imposed on the appellant, (which is death by hanging) is also affirmed,” Justice Fatimo Akinbami who read the judgement held.

The two other members of the panel of Justices, Amina Augie and Ibrahim Saulawa concurred with the lead judgement.

Again, Ezeugo not being satisfied with the verdict, approach the Supreme Court, and urged that the judgment be upturned and the apex court had given its judgment since February 26, 2016 that “You Must Die” as reported in sections of the media referring to Rev King and Lagos Government continues to drag its feet on enforcing the judgement.

This is contempt of the court.  It is hoped the human rights lawyers, who have stayed glued to defending looters against the man they call Fulani man in power are also seeing that, apart from their failing in working with government against the looters of nation’s patrimony, they have also failed in carrying out their duties to ensure enforcement of death by hanging handed to Rev King by the Supreme Court for murder against humanity.

*This is opinion article of Lagos-based media practitioner, Prince Bashir Adefaka.