Bayelsa court sentences Joseph Fekala to death by hanging for murder of Kate Oguoh

A Bayelsa State High Court has sentenced 28-year-old Joseph Fekala to death by hanging for the murder of 25-year-old Kate Oguoh.

Fekala was arrested in July 2022 after strangling Oguoh over a dispute involving ₦50,000 she had given him, and subsequently buried her body in his room at Okaka, Yenagoa, the state capital.

After a three-year trial, Justice Ineikade Eradiri found Fekala guilty of three out of four charges: murder, misconduct in handling a corpse, and burial in an unlicensed place under Bayelsa State’s criminal code. He was acquitted of stealing.

In a three-hour ruling, Justice Eradiri dismissed the defence arguments of insanity, provocation, and self-defence.

The court noted that the defendant had failed to prove that the killing was due to insanity, and evidence tendered in court indicated that he was in control and aware of his actions.

The court also rejected a plea to reduce the charge to manslaughter, stating that the original murder charge could not be substituted.

“The plea for a lesser offence cannot be sustained,” the judge said, emphasizing that the prosecution had proven its case beyond a reasonable doubt.

During sentencing, Fekala pleaded for mercy, describing himself as a Christian and a peace-loving man, and asked the family of the deceased and the court for forgiveness.

However, Justice Eradiri stated that he had no discretion over the sentence for murder. “The punishment for murder under section 247 of the criminal code of Bayelsa State is death,” he ruled.

The parents of the deceased, Mr. and Mrs. Theophilus Oguoh, expressed satisfaction with the judgment, commending the judiciary for its firmness.