There is a popular saying in law that “Justice delayed, is justice denied.” Another popular saying in the noble legal profession is: “The wheel of justice grinds slowly but surely, it must grind to a halt.”
            These time-tested sayings, particularly the first one, are true of the brutal murder of the Late Mr. Samuel Anunu Kpoli Metseaghanrun, on Wednesday, September 23, 1998 in broad daylight, by youths alleged to be Ugborodo indigenes.
            Several arrests were made and 32 suspects were charged to court by the police sometime in 1999 in respect of the murder case. However, on July 9, 2003 after so much legal rigmarole, the presiding Judge, Hon. Justice S.A. Ehiwario, presently of the High Court, Asaba, Delta State, ruled that 17 of the accused have no case to answer and thus discharged them under Section 286 of the Criminal Procedure Law, Laws of Bendel State 1976.
            Perhaps through a divine justice, two of the other accused persons who had case to answer (Daniel Ejuetami and Tony Eliki) died at different times during the protracted trial. Subsequently, they were both discharged but not acquitted by process of national law beyond the reach of the court.
            Similarly, while the prosecution withdrew against one of the accused, Mr. Joseph Esimajemite and his name subsequently struck out of the charge, earlier in the over eight-year proceedings, one of the accused disappeared into the thin air with no trace till date.
            In the final analysis, the Judge, Justice Ehiwario, ruled that the prosecution has made out a prima facie case against the remaining 12 accused persons. Among them are Mr. Mofe Pirah, Mr. Thomas Ereyitomi, Mr. Isaac Botosan, Mr. Alfred Ehami (a.k.a Balado), among others.
            It is therefore shocking to many that the same judge who had ruled some years ago that the 12 accused persons have a case to answer regarding the brutal murder of the Late Metseagharun, did what many described as a judicial summersault, when on October 19, 2007, after nine years, discharged and acquitted all the 12 accused persons.
            Justice Ehiwario in his judgement of October 19 held that “none of the accused has been properly linked with the commission of the crime,” adding that the “investigation was shoddy and scanty in spite of the fact that it was investigated by four different police officers.”
            Said the Judge: “I am of the view that the alibi brought by the accused persons was not properly investigated by police, and failure to investigate the alibi by police has created doubt. Also, the manner of the identification fell far too short of the required standard. I have to thread on the part of caution. The manner of arrest and identification of accused are suspect and fall short of the standard as required in capital offence.”
            According to Justice Ehiwario, the prosecution failed to establish whether the fresh bruises on the Late Metseagharun were as a result of fist blows, adding, “I didn’t find the report of the Medical Doctor who came to testify very helpful and therefore discharge and acquit them (accused).” There are however indications that the Metseagharuns may appeal this judgement, which they see as the travesty of justice.
            However, a legal practitioner who spoke with Warri Mirror on condition of anonymity, wondered why such a sensitive case took eight years to decide, compared to the case of Rev. King’s case which took 90 days before judgement was delivered. According to the lawyer, this alone shows that the judge (Ehiwario) was lazy, incompetent and not in control of his court.
            “Second, why did Hon. Justice Ehiwario allow the accused persons to be on bail after he gave a ruling that they have case to answer? From the start, the Judge’s mindset was not justice, as he treated the case with levity. When the chips were down, it was justice for the highest bidders got it. The Judge blamed the police, but in my view, they (police) did a better job than the Judge. He (Judge) discredited the witness of the prosecution but he himself is not credible because most of the same people he freed are known of to be the culprits. Evidence of witness he (Judge) could not discredit was still not used to convict the accused.” Why? “I think the Judge said a lot of rubbish,” the legal practitioner further stated.
            There are also allegations, according to Warri Mirror findings that one of the accused persons went to the Metseagharuns shortly before the judgement, admitting that only four, including himself, of the 12 accused persons were directly involved in the murder of the Late Metseagharun. He allegedly begged the Metseagharuns for forgiveness on behalf of the other three accused.
            The question on the lips of many is: “Has the wheel of justice in the case finally grinded to a halt or this is another twist to the nine years old soap opera? Only time will tell.