Ebonyi Court Sentences Man to Death for Killing 18‑Year‑Old Over Their Homosexual Relationship

A High Court in Izzi, Abakaliki, Ebonyi State, has sentenced 30-year-old Boniface Abraham Edigbo to death by hanging for the murder of 18-year-old SS2 student, Ogbonna Joshua, following revelations about their s3xual relationship.

The court heard that Edigbo and Joshua had been involved in a s3xual relationship since 2021, and in 2023, both parties made a pact not to disclose it. However, after Joshua began suffering anal complications, he reported the issue to his school principal and some classmates, breaking their secrecy pact.

Feeling betrayed and exposed, Edigbo lured Joshua to Edigbo Guest House on May 22, 2023, where they spent the night. The next morning, he mixed a Fanta drink with insecticide and gave it to Joshua, who died shortly after consumption.

After the act, Edigbo confessed to a woman, stating he didn’t intend to kill Joshua but was driven by anger over the public revelation. The woman feigned assistance and alerted community youths, who apprehended him and took him back to the hotel where Joshua’s lifeless body was discovered in Room 006.

Delivering judgment on Friday, June 13, 2025, Justice Ruth Okeh found Edigbo guilty of premeditated murder and sentenced him to death by hanging.

The prosecution, led by Mrs. Ijeoma Mike-Aja Nwachukwu, welcomed the verdict, stating it would serve as a deterrent to others who might contemplate similar acts of violence.