A Bayelsa State High Court sitting in Yenagoa has sentenced a former policeman, Corporal Vincent Koluama-Owei to death by hanging for extra-judicial killing of a 17-year-old, Innocent Kokorifa.
Kokorifa, who was running an errand for his mother, was shot dead on 18 August, 2016, near the Air Force Base, Okaka, Yenagoa, by a patrol team of the police, who labeled him a bandit.
Koluama-Owei identified as the policeman, who fired the gunshot that killed the minor, has been standing trial for murder at the state high court 7 presided over by Justice Ineikade Eradiri.
Members of the civil society group, Chief Nengi James, Alagoa Morris and Aluzu Ebi Augustine, who brought the matter to the limelight, turned up on Friday to listen to the judgment.
Eradiri in his judgment that lasted two hours weighed the defence of the accused person against the evidence and witnesses of the prosecution lawyer and ruled that the prosecution proved his case beyond every reasonable doubts.
The judge faulted the claims of self defence relied upon by the accused person in line with Section 33(2b) of the 1999 Constitution as amended.
The judge said: “Human life is sacrosanct and as such a person can only deprive another only as a last and final resort. Only God Almighty created life and can take it away. Anyone who takes the life of another under circumstances not as permitted by law arrogates unto himself the driven power of the almighty and must answer here on earth and also in heaven.”
The judge cited judicial decisions in cases of Ibukunle vs the state 2007, Ola vs the state 2014; Garba vs State; Adegboye vs State 2017, among others and concluded that the provision of self-defence would not benefit the accused person.
He said: “In the circumstances of this case, section 33(2) of the 1999 Constitution does not avail the appellant. The firing of the gun at the back of the deceased to prevent him from escaping from a lawful arrest was not reasonable in the circumstance.
“Someone has made a report to the police saying that hoodlums suspected to be armed robbers were operating openly under a broad daylight in a residential area, the next thing that happened was that the police went there, cordoned off the area and shot someone, who was not even running but walking away.
“The police did not do any serious observation as to confirm the report which they received. There was also no evidence whatsoever that the armed robbers were actually in operation. There was also no evidence that any of the so-called armed robbers was arrested after the killing of the deceased.
“There was even evidence that after the deceased had been shot, he stood up and walked to the accused demanding to know why the accused shot him. And shortly afterwards, he slumped to the ground and died. The fact that the deceased walked across the narrow street, after he had been shot by the accused was not denied by the accused.”
