A ‘callous’ assassin who was jailed for life for shooting dead a mother and her sleeping nephew at their London apartment has won a European human rights claim.
Obina Christopher Ezeoke, 32, faced five trials before finally being convicted for the murders of psychology student Bervil Kalikaka-Ekofo, 21, and his aunt Annie Ekofo, 53.
But the European Court of Human Rights has ruled that Ezeoke’s liberties were breached because it took so long for his case to be tried.
Judges said the four-year process breached Article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights.
However, his case for immediate release from his life term in prison and compensation was rejected by the Strasbourg court, The Telegraph reported.
This is the latest extraordinary example of judicial activism by the Strasbourg court
Article 6 guarantees not only the right to a fair trial, encompassing both criminal and civil cases, but also that a public hearing is held within “reasonable time”.
But Shadow Justice Secretary Robert Jenrick said: “This is the latest extraordinary example of judicial activism by the Strasbourg court. It only seems to get worse.”
On September 15, 2016, Ezeoke executed Kalikaka-Ekofo and Ekofo after sneaking in through the unlocked door of their East Finchley apartment.
The Old Bailey heard the killing was intended as a revenge hit after rivals – including Ekofo’s son Ryan Efey, 22 – shared footage of him being attacked on Snapchat.
Ezeoke fired a bullet into the back of Kalikaka-Ekofo’s head with a Smith and Wesson revolver, before blasting Ekofo in the chest with the Smith and Wesson.
The first trial was postponed due to the judge suffering back pain and the second because the jury could not reach a verdict.
The third – and first retrial – also ended because a different jury could not reach a verdict, while the fourth – a second retrial – was cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Finally sentencing him in 2020, Judge Mrs Justice Cutts said she had considered a whole-life order but ultimately opted for life with a minimum term of 40 years.
She said: “Your cold, callous and brutal murders of two people has not only cut short their lives but has ruined the lives of many.”
In his submission to the ECHR, Ezeoke argued that the repeated trials “had such a detrimental effect on the quality of the defence evidence that the outcome of the fifth trial was ‘at least arguably’ unsafe”.
He was held in a Category A high-security prison throughout the process following his arrest eight years ago.
The ECHR found there were two delays that were “problematic”, notably the time between the third and fourth trial in 2019 and 2020.
