An Izzi High Court sitting in Abakaliki, Ebonyi State, has sentenced a 30-year-old man, Boniface Abraham Edigbo, to death by hanging for murdering an 18-year-old male secondary school student.
The victim, Ogbonna Joshua, was a Senior Secondary School 2 student at Community Secondary School, Amachi, located in Izzi Local Government Area.
The court ruled on Friday, June 13, 2025, after hearing evidence that Edigbo poisoned Joshua following the public exposure of their intimate relationship.
The incident occurred after a final sexual encounter between them at Edigbo Guest House in Abakaliki on the night of Monday, May 22, 2023.
Joshua died the next morning, Tuesday, May 23, after drinking a mixture of soft drink and insecticide allegedly given to him by Edigbo.
Teen’s Disclosure Leads to Tragic Outcome
The tragic story began when Joshua, after reportedly suffering from anal complications, disclosed the nature of their relationship to the school principal and a few other students. The relationship, which allegedly began in 2021 when the boy was about 14 years old, had been kept secret by a mutual agreement.
However, once the issue became public, Edigbo became furious. He invited Joshua to spend the night with him at the hotel. During their stay, Edigbo offered the teenager a bottle of Fanta laced with poison. The teenager drank the mixture and died shortly afterward.
According to evidence presented in court, Edigbo later confessed to a woman that he gave the boy poison because the teenager had broken their agreement by speaking out. He reportedly told her that he did not intend to kill the boy but acted in anger and desperation.
The woman advised him to wait while she went to find money to help him escape. Instead, she alerted youths in the community. They apprehended Edigbo and led him back to Room 006 in the guest house where Joshua’s lifeless body was discovered.
Justice Served in Emotional Courtroom Scene
Justice Ruth Okeh, who presided over the case, found Edigbo guilty of murder and sentenced him to death by hanging. The judgment brought an emotional end to a case that had stirred public outrage and sorrow in Ebonyi State.
The prosecuting counsel, Mrs. Ijeoma Mike-Aja Nwachukwu, welcomed the verdict. She said it was a strong warning to others who might consider committing similar crimes.
“This judgment will serve as a deterrent to others who think they can take a life and go free,” she said.
Joshua’s classmates, relatives, and residents of the Izzi community had followed the trial closely. Many expressed relief that justice had finally been served for the young student whose life was cut short in a deeply disturbing manner.
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