A High Court in Awka on Monday sentenced Silas Uwa to life imprisonment for killing his uncle, Mr Nweke Eziokwu, over a land dispute.
Justice Okechukwu Nwabunike, in his judgment, held that murder could be established through direct eyewitness evidence, a confessional statement or circumstantial evidence.
The judge said that although there was no direct eyewitness account, the prosecution had established through credible circumstantial evidence that Uwa killed the deceased.
He also rejected Uwa’s plea of self-defence.
The Chief State Counsel, Mr Ifeanyi Oguejiofor, told the court that Uwa and Eziokwu had an altercation over ownership of a parcel of land in Ebenebe, Awka North Local Government Area.
The prosecution said Eziokwu’s kinsmen had agreed that the land belonged to him, but Uwa and his siblings rejected the decision.
It said Uwa, instead of seeking legal redress, attacked his uncle and hacked him to death.
The prosecution called four witnesses, including the Investigating Police Officer, to establish its case.
The defence argued that the prosecution failed to prove the charge beyond reasonable doubt, citing the absence of an eyewitness account.
