Worried that the authorities of the United Kingdom may succeed in denying his son a fair hearing in a murder case, Chiedozie Ezeoke, father of 28-year-old Obinna Ezeoke, has petitioned the Federal Government through the office of the Chairperson of Nigerian Diaspora Commission and the Minister for Justice and Attorney General of the Federation to intervene since he believes that his son is innocent.

In a letter addressed to Abike Dabiri-Erewa, and AGF Abubakar Malami, Mr. Ezeoke lamented the unfair treatment of his son by the UK authorities.

In a statement released to the press, the distraught father said: “I am the father of a Nigerian living in the United Kingdom, Obinna Ezeoke, who was convicted at Old Bailey Court on the September 9, 2020 for the murders of Annie and Bervil Ekofo on September 15, 2015 at their East Finchley Home. My son, Obinna, is due to be sentenced.

“It is with an absolute sense of trust in our country that I make this appeal to your Commission. I am putting up this letter to request your urgent intervention on this matter.

“My son was tried five times, which is unprecedented in English and Wales’ legal history. Justice William Davis allowed for a fifth trial, and differed reasons for that, until the conclusion of the trial, which was strange. It is on record that the court was warned by the defense attorney that the action will be viewed worldwide as oppressive and that enough is enough. Above that, my son consistently maintained that he is innocent of the double homicide throughout the five trials.

“The British Police and the Prosecution were not able to put my son on the scene of the crime. My son has never been to the scene of the crime and does not know the layout of the property as the prosecution falsely informed the court. No individual(s) or CCTV identified my son been anywhere close to the scene of the crime by 06:30 am on September 15, 2015. My son had a solid alibi of where he was at the time of the crime, which the prosecution was not able to disprove.

“All the pieces of evidence against my son are all conjectures to the effect that he had a running feud with the son of the deceased and that he has gone for revenge. On the trial, all pieces of evidence against my son are all circumstantial and the police and the prosecution cannot justify British taxpayers’ funds expended without conviction hence they insisted on an unjustifiable conviction.

“In their desperation, they introduced Machiavelli’s style. The police’ bungled investigation was shown in the way juries in the four trials rejected the prosecution’s arguments.

“In the fifth trial, however, without introducing any new evidence, my son was convicted by 11-1 of the jurors after jury intimidation and coercion by the police. An usher of the court discovered a police officer talking to a juror in the middle of the trial and reported to the judge. The judge ignored it and rejected the plea to have the juror replaced. The jurors were not advised properly on the burden of proof in the fifth trial, which should be beyond all reasonable doubts. There were doubts in the first four trials and that was why the prosecution case was rejected.

“By this letter, I plead with the Nigerian government to show interest in my son’s case. I’m specifically calling on the Commission and the Office of the Attorney General of the Federation to please intervene.

“This matter is also of national interest as sentencing my son (will) tantamount to embarrassing our great country and to punish my son for a crime that he did not commit,” the statement read.

As at press time, it could not be confirmed if the Nigerians Diaspora Commission and the AGF’s office have received the letter and what their reactions are to the petition.

Update news