An Abia State High Court sitting in Ukwa, Abia State, has sentenced two former members of the Abia Vigilante Group, popularly known as Bakassi Boys, to death for alleged involvement in kidnap and murder.
The duo, Ugochukwu Amaugo and Udo Ogah, are to die by hanging according to the pronouncement of the trial judge, Justice Chibuzo Ahuchaogu.
They were found guilty of conspiracy, kidnap and murder which occurred on the 30th of August, 2014.
The convicts had, on the said date, arrested two young men, Temple Nwakanma and Martins Azih, around the Osisioma area of Aba, and claimed to have found them in possession of firearms, cartridges and knives.
They claimed to have handed over the suspects to certain Army personnel who intercepted them at a military checkpoint on the Umuahia-Aba Expressway while taking them to Umuahia the state capital.
The convicts had also claimed not knowing the identities of the said military personnel nor getting any note from them before handing over the suspects to them.
Meanwhile, the whereabouts of the suspects had remained unknown as the Nigerian Army had since denied any knowledge of the incident.
This prompted family members of the suspects to approach the court for justice.
Delivering judgment on the matter, Justice Ahuchaogu, said the convicts should be hanged for failing to prove beyond every reasonable doubt that they had handed the boys to men of the Nigerian Army and as such knew nothing about their disappearance.
Two ex-vigilante members bag death sentence over alleged kidnap, murder
