The supreme court in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State on June 6th re-affirmed the death sentence passed on a National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) member.
Justice Godwin Abraham sentenced the corps member Udeh Kingsley Emeka to death for armed robbery but Kingsley went to court of appeal in Calabar which affirmed the judgement of the high court.
In the lead judgement delivered by Justice Suleiman Galadima, the apex court said the decision of the Court of Appeal upholding the conviction and sentence of the appellant was not perverse. Justice Galadima held that the appellant did not deny or dispute that the robbery in which he was part of took place, adding that he was properly identified by the victims.
Udeh Kingsley Emeka was a member of the National Youth Service Corps Scheme at the Comprehensive Secondary School, Ukpom in Ikono LGA of Akwa Ibom State.
On August 13, 2006, he was arraigned before the High Court of Akwa Ibom, Ikono division on a four-count criminal charge of armed robbery, contrary to Section 1 (2) (G) of the Robbery and Firearms Act.
He was accused of robbing one Dr. Clement Adolf Bassey (who testified as PW 1) at gunpoint on November 31, 2004 as he traveled with one Pius Akpan from Uyo to Ukpom Ita, carting away a Peugeot car valued at N2 million, a driver's license, 3 cheque books, 2 GSM handsets valued N75,000:00 and numerous official documents.
A wallet containing an identity card issued at the Institute of Management and Technology (IMT), Enugu (later discovered to belong to the corps member), was seen at the scene of the robbery.
The corps member was nabbed and subsequently arraigned before the court.