- Kelvin Ezeiegbe and Frank Azuekor sentenced to 20 years for kidnapping lawyer Mike Ozekhome and killing security officers
- Other charges dropped; judge cites Ozekhome’s testimony as central to the prosecution’s case
A federal high court in Abuja sentenced Kelvin Ezeiegbe and Frank Azuekor to 20 years in prison for kidnapping a human rights lawyer, Mike Ozekhome, and murdering six security operatives, according to the Cable.
On August 23, 2013, Ozekhome, a law professor and senior advocate of Nigeria (SAN), was kidnapped along with his driver on the Ehor stretch of the Benin-Auchi highway in Edo State.
The convicts ambushed and killed four police officers who responded to Ozekhome’s kidnapping.
In June 2014, the convicts were arraigned alongside two others, Michael Omonigho and Haruna Momoh, on a 13-count charge.
Ezeiegbe and Azuekor were charged with conspiracy to commit terrorist acts, kidnapping, inciting others to commit terrorist acts, recruitment, and aiding and abetting escape. In contrast, Omonigho and Momoh were charged with conspiracy and kidnapping.
Binta Nyako, the presiding judge, said yesterday that the prosecution failed to substantiate allegations of conspiracy and kidnapping against Omonigho and Momoh.
The judge, on the other hand, ordered that Momoh be arrested and tried for escaping from lawful custody during the Kuje prison break in 2022.
Ezeiegbe and Azuekor were convicted.
Ozekhome testified during the trial that he was held hostage for three weeks and was only released after paying an N40 million ransom.
According to the judge, Ozekhome’s “testimony was central to the prosecution’s evidence.”
Nyako also cited a letter from the Delta commissioner for justice to the federation’s attorney-general, which stated that Azuekor had been indicted for a crime in the state before his arrest for kidnapping Ozekhome.