Court sentences UNIPORT student to death by hanging for murdering girlfriend

The family of the late University of Port Harcourt student, Justina Otuene, on Friday said they felt relieved after a Rivers State High Court sentenced her boyfriend, Damian Okoligwe, to death by hanging for her murder.

Okoligwe, a 400-level Petrochemical Engineering student at UNIPORT, killed Justina — a 300-level Biochemistry student — on October 20, 2023, in his apartment in Mgbuoba, Obio-Akpor Local Government Area of Rivers State. He dismembered her body and placed the remains in a wheelbarrow, attempting to dispose of them when he was apprehended.

Delivering judgment, Justice Chinwe Nsirim-Nwosu ruled that the prosecution had proven the case of murder beyond reasonable doubt. She described Okoligwe’s actions as “intentional, composed, calculated, coordinated and evil,” noting that the evidence presented was clear and consistent. She ordered that he “be hanged by the neck until confirmed dead.”

While the defence team declined to comment, Justina’s elder brother, Osatawaji Otuene, said the family was satisfied with the ruling. “It was a detailed, well-structured judgment. It is a relief because it shows my sister didn’t die for nothing,” he said.

Prosecution counsel, Charles Mbaba, also welcomed the verdict, saying it delivered justice to Justina’s family. He noted that Justina, the only daughter of her parents, was brutally murdered in circumstances suggestive of ritual motives.

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