BREAKING: Rivers Court sentences UNIPORT student to death for killing girlfriend

A Rivers State High Court sitting in Port Harcourt has sentenced a 400-level student of the University of Port Harcourt, Damian Okoligwe, to death by hanging for the murder of his girlfriend, Justina Otuene, a 300-level Biochemistry undergraduate.

Okoligwe, a Petrochemical Engineering student, was found to have killed Otuene on October 20, 2023, at his residence in the Mgbupba area of Obio-Akpor Local Government. After committing the crime, he dismembered her body and attempted to dispose of the remains using a wheelbarrow before he was apprehended.

In a judgment delivered by Justice Chinwe Nsirim-Nwosu, the court held that the prosecution had established its case beyond reasonable doubt, describing the convict’s actions as intentional, calculated, coordinated, and evil. The court thereafter ordered that he be hanged by the neck until confirmed dead.

Speaking after the verdict, prosecuting counsel Charles Mbaba commended the judgment, saying it would bring some consolation to the victim’s family and serve as a deterrent to young people seeking shortcuts through harmful acts.

Similarly, the victim’s brother, Osatawaji, welcomed the ruling, noting that the judgment offered the family a measure of relief and a sense of justice.