Abia Court Sentences Two Former Bakassi Operatives To Death By Hanging

An Ukwa High Court in Abia State on Thursday sentenced two middle-aged men of the defunct Bakassi Group now the Abia State Vigilante Services., Mr Ugochukwu Amaugo and Mr Udo Ogba Oka both to death by hanging for Murder, ABN TV reports.

The judgment was read out and pronounced by Hon. Justice C.H. Ahuchaogu who found them guilty of an alleged case of murder that occurred on the 30th of August, 2013.

The convicts who were members of the defunct Bakassi group had stated that on the 30th of August, 2013 they had arrested two young men named, Temple Nwakanma and Martins Azih around Osisioma, Aba and claimed to have found them in possession of firearms, cartridges and knives.

They had moved them from there and headed to their Umuahia office when they met some men of the Nigerian Army at Abia tower who, after interrogation requested that the boys be handed over to them which they did.

They claimed not to know the names of the military men nor did they get a note from them as at the time of that handover.

Ever since, the whereabouts of the young men have been unknown as the members of the Nigerian Army situated in the area of the incident had denied receiving any of such men as claimed by members of the Abia State Vigilante Services.

Meanwhile, efforts made to ascertain the whereabouts of those young men have since proved abortive in the last 11 years.

The matter has however been in court since after the incident and concluded on Thursday, as Hon. Justice Chibuzo Ahuchaogu sentenced both men of the defunct Bakassi to death by hanging for failing to prove beyond every reasonable doubt that they had handed the boys to men of the Nigeria Army and as such knew nothing about their disappearance.