Ebonyi Man Sentenced To Death For Killing Teen Who Exposed Their Homosexual Relationship

A 30-year-old man, Boniface Abraham Edigbo, has been sentenced to death by hanging for killing an 18-year-old secondary school student, Ogbonna Joshua, in Abakaliki, Ebonyi State.

It was gathered that the incident happened on May 23, 2023, a day after the two spent the night together at a hotel.

According to court findings, Edigbo poisoned the teenager after he reportedly revealed their sexual relationship to his school principal and classmates.

The young student had also complained of anal complications, which led to the homosexual relationship becoming public.

The victim, a student of Community Secondary School in Amachi, Izzi Local Government Area, had been in a secret relationship with Edigbo since 2021.

In 2023, they reportedly made a pact to keep their involvement private. But after the student started experiencing health issues, he broke the silence, which upset the older man.

On May 22, 2023, Edigbo invited the teenager to Edigbo Guest House where they spent the night together

The next morning, he allegedly mixed a bottle of Fanta with insecticide and gave it to Joshua, who drank it and died shortly afterward.

After the boy’s death, Edigbo left the hotel and confessed to a woman that he had poisoned the boy, but claimed he didn’t mean to kill him—he said he acted out of anger after their secret became public.

The woman told him to wait while she pretended to go get money to help him flee, but instead alerted local youths.

The community youths caught Edigbo and returned to the hotel, where Joshua’s lifeless body was discovered in Room 006.

On Friday, June 13, 2025, Justice Ruth Okeh of the Izzi High Court found Edigbo guilty of murder and sentenced him to death by hanging.

The state prosecutor, Mrs. Ijeoma Mike-Aja Nwachukwu, welcomed the judgment, saying it would serve as a warning to others involved in such serious crimes.

KanyiDaily recalls that Ebonyi State High Court also sentenced four men to death by hanging for the brutal killing of 26-year-old businessman, Chinonso Elom, popularly known as Oscar.