EMMANUEL NLEWEDUM, Port Harcourt
A Rivers State High Court sitting in Port Harcourt has convicted and sentenced Damian Okoligwe, a 400-level student of Petrochemical Engineering at the University of Port Harcourt, to death by hanging over the murder of his girlfriend, Justina Otuene.
Justina, a 300-level student of Biochemistry at the same university, was murdered by Okoligwe on October 20, 2023, at his apartment in Mgbugba in Obio-Akpor Local Government Area of the state.
Okoligwe who had dismembered her body and dumped it in a wheelbarrow, intending to dispose of it before his arrest, was, however, found guilty of the crime.
Delivering judgment, trial judge Justice Chinwe Nsirum-Nwosu, held that the prosecution had proved beyond reasonable doubt the three ingredients of the case of murder against Okoligwe.
Justice Nsirum-Nwosu described Okoligwe’s action as intentional, composed, calculated, coordinated, and evil, and stated that there was no contradiction in the evidence, hence proof that Okoligwe actually committed the crime.
The Judge directed that Okoligwe should be hanged on his neck until he is confirmed dead.
The prosecution Council, Charles Mbaba, expressed satisfaction with the judgment, saying it would bring closure to Justina’s family and serve as a deterrent to others.
The defendant’s counsel declined to comment on the judgment, while the brother of the deceased, Osatawaji Otuene, commended the court for justice well served, saying the judgment would bring relief to their family.
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