TheNewsGuru

Tag: Death Sentence

  • Drama in court as kidnappers attack judge after issuing death sentence

    Drama in court as kidnappers attack judge after issuing death sentence

    A judge of the Akwa Ibom State High Court, Justice Okon Okon, escaped death on Tuesday as some convicts attacked him on the court premises in Uyo for sentencing them to death.

    It was learnt that as soon as the presiding judge pronounced the death sentence on the kidnappers, the convicts started to abuse him. They also threatened to kill the Akwa Ibom State Government’s prosecution team.

    The criminals later went berserk, destroying the window of the courtroom and causing pandemonium along Ikot Ekpene Road, where the court is located.

    A source said, “The situation became messy, as litigants and lawyers in other courts ran helter-skelter for dear lives.

    “For about an hour, the kidnappers refused to leave the courtroom. It took the intervention of a combined team of soldiers and policemen to take the convicts to a waiting prison vehicle.”

    The names of the convicts were given as Bernard Ajomaya, Christian Naya, Daniel West and Shedrach Dala.

    They were accused of kidnapping a medical expert in Uyo, Dr Usen Bassey, on May 19, 2015, and demanding N10m ransom.

    They were later arrested with part of their loot, the passport and financial documents belonging to the doctor.

     

  • Pregnant cow bags death sentence for illegal border crossing

    A pregnant cow will be executed as a result of crossing from her European Union farm in Bulgaria into the non-EU Serbia.

    Daily Mail reports that Penka, a pregnant red cow who is due in around three months’ time, wandered westwards away from her herd near the village of Kopilovtsi, straying over the border into non-EU Serbia.

    Two weeks later, she was returned to her owner, Ivan Haralampiev, by a farmer over the frontier.

    However, Bulgarian officials said the animal must be put down because of strict EU rules.

    Penka will now be executed because she didn’t have the proper paperwork — despite being given a clean bill of health by Serbian vets.

    “She had left the borders of the EU and cannot be imported back into the European Union,” Haralampiev told public BNT Television Thursday as he pleaded for his cow to be saved.

    “A vet comes and orders it to be immediately culled!”

    The farmer also lamented how the cow was able to saunter over the border unchecked in the first place. “How come nobody attempted to stop it?” he said.

    Although Serbian vets have written a statement saying Penka was in a perfect condition and fit to return home, Bulgarian authorities said she should be put down without delay.

    Officials said it was not in their powers to save Penka from the EU regulations.

  • Okowa swears in 5 Judges, pardons 5 prison inmates, reverses death sentence of 30 others

    Governor Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta State today sworn in five newly appointed Judges into the State Judiciary at the State Government House Asaba with a charge to avoid granting frivolous injunctions and frequent adjournment of cases.

    Speaking during the swearing in ceremony, Governor Okowa said, “One of the things you (Judges) must guard against is the frivolous use of injunctions and the frequent adjournments of cases, which not only leads to delay and congested courts but has also contributed to negative perception of the Judiciary in the court of public opinion”.

    Okowa, who submits that such bottlenecks are inimical to the development of the judicial system, said, “Judges have an obligation to see to it that justice is not only served but, also seen to be served, so that the Judiciary does not lose the confidence of the public from which it ultimately derives its authority”.

    Governor Okowa emphasized that “As Judges, fairness, equity and justice must be your watchword at all times, you must maintain a high level of focus, discipline and personal probity”.

    While congratulating the Judges for their appointments, the Governor asserted, “as you begin your journey as privileged members of the Bench, I expect you to continue in the same spirit of hard work, excellence and forthrightness that earned you this appointment, this is not the time for you to rest on your oars, your job as judges will further challenge your intellect, demand greater resourcefulness, task your creativity, stretch your patience, encroach on your time and test your value system”.

    The Governor disclosed that the 5 Judges were “screened, selected and appointed in line with laid down procedures for such appointments as enshrined in Section 271, sub section (2) of the 1999 constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended)”.

    Those sworn in are Mrs. Celestina Dafe-Idise, Egwu Joe, Dr. Anthony Ezonfade Okorodas, Blessing Oghale Ideh (Mrs), and Edun Ajueyitsi Joshua.

    In a different development, the Delta state governor approved the grant of total pardon to 5 inmates who were serving various terms of imprisonment, and commuted 30 others on death row to life imprisonment.

    This is contained in a statement released from the office of the Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr. Peter Mrakpor.

    According to the statement, the governor acted in pursuant to powers vested on him in exercise of his powers of prerogative of mercy in the spirit of the Easter celebration and took into considerations the several international and local pleas including those from Amnesty International.

    The Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice explained that the Governor acted in accordance to his constitutional powers based on the recommendations of the 7-Man Advisory Council on the Prerogative of Mercy headed by Chief Patrick Okpakpor that was inaugurated by the Delta Governor on 30th March, 2017.

    According to the statement, the Governor approved the grant of full pardon to the following inmates and ordered their immediate release; Livinus Ugwu (M) who was sentenced to 20 years, Enebeli Dike (M), a condemned convict, Orji Pascal (M), serving a 10 year jail term, Moses Agedah who was also on death row and Martins Ishiekwene, a prisoner sentenced to death on the 30th of November, 1998.

    The 30 inmates whose sentences were commuted by the Governor were all death row inmates, sentenced to death by hanging.

    The statement further stated that Okowa’s administration was irrevocably committed to better the lives of the people including prisoners as the government has come out with various rehabilitation programmes through skill acquisitions, trainings and other empowerment programmes geared towards their reintegration back into the society.

     

  • Death penalty: Gov. Fayose faults proposed hate speech bill

    Governor Peter Ayodele Fayose of Ekiti State has faulted Senator Aliyu Sabi Abdullahi-sponsored bill that recommends death penalty for purveyors of hate speech.

    In a statement today, Fayose said public office holders are responsible to the people, and hence, there is need for the people to assess and tell those in power the truth, whether it augur with them or not.

    “Those of us occupying public offices are doing so in trust for the people, we are not their lords. The power of the people is greater than the power of the people in power.

    “When you say the truth to power, tell those of us in power what we are doing wrong, it is not Hate Speech. Rather, it is patriotism.

    “If you are in power and afraid of Nigerians telling you the bitter truth, resign and go to your house,” the Ekiti state executive Governor said.

    TheNewsGuru reports the hate speech bill proposes that anyone found guilty of any form of hate speech could face death by hanging upon conviction.

    Senator Abdullahi explaining why death penalty was included in the bill said the hate speech bill has slated some processes which must be exhausted before a person is subjected to the maximum punishment.

    “On this issue of Hate Speech, I stand with Nigerians and anything they say to make the country better,” Fayose, however, said.

     

  • Death sentence: Facebook meets with Pakistani govt

    Death sentence: Facebook meets with Pakistani govt

    A senior Facebook official met with Pakistani interior minister on Friday to discuss a demand the company prevent blasphemous content or be blocked.

    The meeting comes after a Pakistani counter-terrorism court sentenced a 30-year-old man to death for making blasphemous comments on Facebook, part of a wider crack-down.

    Joel Kaplan, Facebook’s vice president of public policy, met Interior Minister Nisar Ali Khan, who offered to approve a Facebook office in Pakistan, which has 33 million users of the network.

    Khan said Pakistan believes in freedom of expression, but that does not include insulting Islam or stoking religious tensions.

    “We cannot allow anyone to misuse social media for hurting religious sentiments,” Khan said.

    Facebook called the meeting “constructive”.

    “Facebook met with Pakistan officials to express the company’s deep commitment to protecting the rights of the people who use its service, and to enabling people to express themselves freely and safely,” the company said in an email.

    “It was an important and constructive meeting in which we raised our concerns over the recent court cases and made it clear we apply a strict legal process to any government request for data or content restrictions.”

    Pakistan’s social media crack-down is officially aimed at weeding out blasphemy and shutting down accounts promoting terrorism, but civil rights activists say it has also swept up writers and bloggers who criticise the government or military.

    One of five prominent writers and activists who disappeared for nearly three weeks this year later told a UN human rights event in March that Pakistan’s intelligence agencies had kidnapped him and tortured him in custody.

    Others’ families said right-wing and Islamist parties had filed blasphemy accusations against them to punish them for critical writings.

    Anything deemed insulting to Islam or the Prophet Muhammad carries a death penalty in Pakistan, and sometimes a mere allegation can lead to mob violence and lynchings. Right groups say the law is frequently abused to settle personal scores.

    In April, a Pakistani university student, Mashal Khan, was beaten to death by a mob after being accused of blasphemous content on Facebook. Police arrested 57 people accused in the attack and said they had found no evidence Khan committed blasphemy.

     

  • Kidnapping: IGP advocates death sentence for Evans, others

    The Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, is advocating for the imposition of death sentence on convicted kidnappers as deterrent for others who might want to embark on the heinous crime in future.

    The IGP, speaking at a dialogue session he held with Civil Society Organisations (CSOs), under the umbrella of Situation Room, in Abuja on Friday, said the case of recently apprehended kidnap kingpin, Chukwudidumeme Onuamadike, a.k.a Evans, should be used to set an example.

    Idris lamented that Evans “has changed the face of kidnapping in this country”, saying the fact that he collected $1million ransom on six different occasions, was enough to lure some youths into the evil act.

    The police boss stated that the existing laws on kidnapping needed to be reviewed to ensure stiffer punishment for culprits.

    “We should start looking at punishment and the possibility of establishing special courts to address issues of kidnapping.

    “On daily basis we are arresting hundreds of suspects. We should look for a way to review our laws and impose sanctions like we have in some states like Anambra, Lagos, Kano and Imo.

    “We need to review those punishments, we should have a time frame for conclusion of trial of suspects.

    “Some of these local people don’t really understand, they see people being paraded on TV after arrest and think that is just where it ended.
    “Kidnapping obviously have become a very major challenge for us in this country. However, I am happy to state that in virtually over 80 percent of cases reported to the police, the suspects were arrested. “Imagine the case at hand, talking about Evans. He told his boys not to have landed property in either Anambra or Imo because he was aware the houses will be demolished and the boys ostracised if caught.

    “He refused to own any property in his place. You know, in that part of the country, even in churches, relatives of kidnap suspects are avoided and treated as outcasts by people.

    “That was why he refused to invest in his own state and preferred to build houses in Ghana and other places. This was because he knew his Investments would be lost. So the issue of punishment is very important.

    “Evans has undoubtedly changed the face of kidnapping in this country, if you see his magnification mansions in Ghana.

    “You can see why our youths have taken this way to easy life. That is why we have to up the risk. If you engage in kidnapping the punishment should be death or life imprisonment. This will serve as deterrent to youths that may wish to engage in the crime.”

     

     

  • Court sentences 2 men to death for murder over iPhone 7

    A Thai court on Wednesday sentenced two men to death for murdering another Thai man over his iPhone 7, a court official told dpa.

    According to the police, in January, Wasin Luengjam, 26, was stabbed to death by two men in a Bangkok suburb who had also slit his throat.

    The incident was caught on a surveillance camera.

    Two men, later identified as Kittikorn Wikaha, 26 and Supatchai Jansri, 25, were caught by police in a nearby province while they were on the run.

    Police said some cash and a watch remained on Wasin’s body.

    Both Kittikorn and Supatchai admitted their crimes.

    Police said that clear evidence helped lead to their confessions.

    Police told dpa it is unclear if both men will appeal the decision. Since their arrests and detention in January, none of their relatives have bailed them out, citing a lack of money.

    In March, a top-level provincial court upheld the death sentences of two migrant workers from Myanmar found guilty of murdering two British tourists on the southern island of Koh Tao in 2014.

    Thailand last carried out the death penalty in August 2009.