A Delta State High Court sitting in Ogwashi-Uku has sentenced two men to death by hanging for the kidnapping and murder of Elozino Joshualia Ogege, a first-class student of Delta State University, Abraka.
A Delta State High Court sitting in Ogwashi-Uku has sentenced two men to death by hanging for the kidnapping and murder of Elozino Joshualia Ogege, a first-class student of Delta State University (DELSU), Abraka, bringing to a close a case that has gripped the state for years.
Justice Flora Ngozi Azinge handed down the verdict after finding Macaulay Desmond Oghenemaro and Enaike Onoriode guilty of conspiracy, kidnapping and murder.
The court, however, acquitted a third defendant, Nwosisi Benedict Uche, while a fourth suspect, native doctor Robinson Obajero Ojokojo, died during the course of the trial.
Ogege, a 300-level Mass Communication student, was abducted in 2019 after reportedly leaving campus to inspect an apartment. Her body was later discovered, triggering widespread outrage and renewed concerns over ritual-related killings in the country.
The trial, which lasted several years, heard evidence linking the convicts to the abduction and killing of the promising undergraduate. Prosecutors argued that the crime was premeditated and carried out as part of a criminal conspiracy.
Delivering judgment, the court convicted the two men on all major counts and sentenced them to death by hanging in accordance with the law.
