A 400-level student at the University of Port Harcourt, Damian Okoligwe, was found guilty of the murder of his girlfriend, Justina Otuene, and sentenced to death by hanging by the Rivers State High Court in Port Harcourt.
The murder of Otuene, a 300-level biochemistry student living in Okoligwe’s residence in Mgbupba, Obio-Akpor Local Government Area, occurred on October 20, 2023. Okoligwe was a student of petrochemical engineering.
According to The Nation, he tried to dispose of her remains with a wheelbarrow after dismembering her body before he was detained.
In her ruling, Justice Chinwe Nsirim-Nwosu stated that the prosecution had established beyond a reasonable doubt that Okoligwe’s conduct were malicious, deliberate, organized, and intentional.
He was directed to be “hanged on the neck until confirmed dead” by the court.
The victim’s family will be consoled and young people will be discouraged from taking destructive shortcuts in life, according to prosecution lawyer Charles Mbaba, who spoke outside the courtroom and expressed his joy at the verdict.
Also expressing happiness was Osatawaji, brother of the late Justina Otuene; he said the verdict brought his family relief and justice.
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