Court sentences Anambra vigilante to death by hanging for murder of phone repairer

A High Court in the Ogbaru Judicial Division of Anambra State has sentenced a vigilante operative, Onyeka Eze, to d3ath by hanging for the murder of a phone repairer, Anayo Ugbo.

The judgment was delivered on Thursday, March 5, 2026 by the Administrative Judge, Justice Charles Okaa, who found Eze guilty of the offence.

The prosecution, led by Assistant Chief State Counsel Chinyere Aganama-Onyeze from the Anambra State Ministry of Justice, told the court that Ugbo, from Ogboji Ezzagu in Ishielu Local Government Area of Ebonyi State, was repairing a phone at Shoe Site Market in Okpoko, Ogbaru LGA, on May 5, 2022, when Eze summoned him to meet their “boss.”

Ugbo reportedly asked for time to finish the repair work, but Eze insisted that he follow him to the vigilante office, located in a three-storey building within the market. Ugbo eventually complied, accompanied by his customer.

Upon arrival, the vigilante boss was absent. Ugbo pleaded to return to his shop to continue working, but the request was refused. Instead, Eze demanded that Ugbo pay for a previous altercation involving a damaged chair and a spilled pot of pepper soup, an incident the victim denied being involved in.

Angered by Ugbo’s refusal, Eze allegedly assaulted him and pushed him from the third floor of the building.

The fall caused severe head injuries, and Ugbo d!ed two days later at the Nnamdi Azikiwe University Teaching Hospital, where he had been receiving treatment. 

During the trial, the prosecution presented four witnesses, including an eyewitness, a medical doctor who conducted the postmortem, a police inspector, and the victim’s brother, Sunday Ugbo.

The brother testified that the victim recounted the incident to him in the presence of his customer and the eyewitness, Joshua Igwe.

Eze, who maintained his innocence, testified on his own behalf but failed under cross-examination to prove he was an authorised vigilante operative.

Justice Okaa ruled that the prosecution had established the case beyond a reasonable doubt.

“The prosecution proved the case of m8rder against the defendant beyond reasonable doubt,” the judge said.

Eze, from Enueiji in Ika North Local Government Area of Delta State, was 26 years old at the time of the incident in 2022 and is now 30.