An Akwa Ibom State High Court sitting in Etinan Local Government Area of the state has sentenced one Moses Edo, aged 37, to death by hanging for killing his father, Abdon Edo.
The convict, an indigene of Ikot Ukobo in Nsit Ubium LGA and motorcycle operator, had confessed that he single-handedly killed his father on July 29, 2015, in his house and buried him beside his son’s grave.
Trial judge, Justice Ezekiel Enang, while delivering judgement which lasted for about an hour on Tuesday, said the convict, who is the first son of the deceased, confessed that he chased his father to the backyard of his old building and hit his head on the wall where he died on the spot over landed property.
Justice Enang held that once a confessional statement is positive, direct and unequivocal of fact, it is sufficient to secure the conviction of the accused without the evidence being collaborated.
The court held that in a charge of murder, what the prosecution must prove beyond a reasonable doubt are the ingredients of the offence that the deceased died and that the death was caused by the act of the accused to kill or cause him grievous bodily harm.
The court held that by smashing the head of his father on the wall, the convict intended to kill him.
Justice Enang found Moses guilty of murder and ordered that he should die by hanging or be injected with a lethal substance until he is dead.