An Abia State High Court in Ukwa has issued a death sentence to two former members of the Abia Vigilante group, commonly known as Bakassi Boys, for their involvement in an alleged kidnapping and murder case.
The convicted individuals, Ugochukwu Amaugo and Udo Ogah, are slated to face capital punishment through hanging, as declared by Justice Chibuzo Ahuchaogu.
The charges against them stem from an incident on August 30, 2014, where they were accused of conspiring, kidnapping, and murdering two young men, Temple Nwakanma and Martins Azih, in the Osisioma area of Aba. Amaugo and Ogah purportedly detained the victims, alleging they possessed firearms, cartridges, and knives.
The convicts claimed to have handed over the detainees to unidentified Army personnel at a military checkpoint on the Umuahia-Aba Expressway, en route to Umuahia, the state capital. However, they asserted they did not know the military personnel’s identities nor received any documentation before transferring the suspects.
Despite the Nigerian Army denying knowledge of the incident and the whereabouts of the suspects remaining unknown, the victims’ families sought justice through legal means. In delivering the judgment, Justice Ahuchaogu ruled that the convicted individuals failed to convincingly demonstrate that they handed the boys to the Nigerian Army, leading to their death sentence by hanging.
