By Comfort Asemota
A Bayelsa State High Court has sentenced 28-year-old Joseph Fekala to death by hanging for the murder of 25-year-old Kate Oguoh.
According to reports, Fekala was arrested in July 2022 after strangling Oguoh to death over a dispute involving N50,000 she had given him. He allegedly buried her body in his room in Okaka, Yenagoa, the state capital.
After a three-year trial, Justice Ineikade Eradiri found Fekala guilty of three of the four charges against him, including murder, misconduct in handling a corpse, and burial in an unlicensed place, contrary to the Criminal Code of Bayelsa State. He was acquitted of the charge of stealing.
In a ruling that lasted three hours over the weekend, Justice Eradiri dismissed the defense arguments of insanity, provocation, and self-defense. The court noted that the two witnesses called to support the insanity claim failed to prove that the killing was due to mental incapacity. Evidence tendered in court indicated that Fekala was in full control and aware of his actions.
The court also rejected the defense counsel’s plea to reduce the conviction to manslaughter, stating that the evidence did not support a lesser offense. “The plea for a lesser offense cannot be sustained. After reviewing the evidence, I find no grounds to convict the defendant of manslaughter. I therefore find the accused guilty of murder and convict him of counts 1, 2, and 3,” Justice Eradiri said.
During his allocution, Fekala pleaded for mercy, describing himself as a Christian and peace-loving man who had followed his late mother’s advice never to have problems with women. He asked the family of the deceased and the court for forgiveness.
Justice Eradiri, however, stated that the law leaves no discretion in sentencing for murder. “The punishment for murder under Section 247 of the Criminal Code of Bayelsa State is death. I hereby sentence you to death by hanging until you die. May God have mercy on your soul,” he proclaimed.
The parents of the deceased, Mr. and Mrs. Theophilus Oguoh, expressed satisfaction with the judgment, commending the judiciary for its firmness.
