…as Delta High Court acquits third defendant

A High Court sitting in Ogwashi-Uku, Delta State, has sentenced two men to death by hanging for the gruesome kidnapping and ritual killing of Miss Elozino Joshualia Ogege, a 300-level Mass Communication student of Delta State University (DELSU), Abraka.

 

Justice Flora Ngozi Azinge, who delivered the judgment on Wednesday after a trial that lasted several years, convicted Macaulay Desmond Oghenemaro and Enaike Onoriode on charges including conspiracy to commit kidnapping, kidnapping, conspiracy to commit murder, and murder.

 

The court, however, discharged and acquitted the second defendant, Nwosisi Benedict Uche, holding that the prosecution failed to establish his culpability beyond reasonable doubt.

 

The judgment, which lasted for over an hour, was delivered before a packed courtroom filled with lawyers, members of the public, and relatives of the deceased, including her mother, who broke down in tears as the verdict was pronounced.

 

According to the prosecution, the late Elozino Ogege was lured on November 19, 2018, under the guise of being offered accommodation. The court heard that after entering a vehicle, she was sprayed in the face with insecticide, rendering her unconscious before she was taken to the residence of the alleged mastermind, Emese Emudiaga.

 

The court found that later that night, Emese Emudiaga, Macaulay Desmond Oghenemaro, and Enaike Onoriode transported the unconscious student to a forest in Abraka, where she was tied to a tree and brutally murdered. Evidence before the court showed that her eyes were removed, her abdomen mutilated, one of her breasts severed, and other body parts harvested before she was abandoned in the forest.

 

The prosecution further established that the harvested body parts were allegedly delivered to herbalist Robinson Obajero Ojokojo, who died while the trial was still ongoing. Emese Emudiaga, identified as the principal conspirator, also died in police custody before the conclusion of the case.

 

Investigations by the police began after the victim was declared missing by her family. Detectives tracked her mobile phone, leading them initially to Nwosisi Benedict Uche, who had made the last recorded call to the deceased’s phone, which was eventually traced to Enaike Onoriode.

 

Following his arrest, Onoriode reportedly made confessional statements that led investigators to other suspects and eventually to the forest where the decomposing remains of the victim were recovered.

 

After reviewing the evidence presented by both the prosecution and the defence across the eight-count charge, Justice Azinge held that the prosecution successfully proved beyond reasonable doubt the offences of conspiracy to commit kidnapping, kidnapping, conspiracy to commit murder, and murder against the first and third defendants.

 

The court sentenced both convicts to various prison terms for the conspiracy-related offences, imposed life imprisonment for kidnapping, and ultimately sentenced them to death by hanging for the offence of murder.

 

In her ruling, Justice Azinge stressed that every citizen has a constitutional right to life and that the courts have an obligation to uphold and protect that right whenever it is violated.

 

She described the case as a stark reminder of the growing menace of ritual killings motivated by the quest for illicit wealth, warning that such crimes represent a grave threat to society.

 

On the second defendant, Nwosisi Benedict Uche, the judge ruled that suspicion alone could not sustain a criminal conviction, noting that the evidence presented by the prosecution failed to prove his involvement beyond reasonable doubt. Consequently, he was discharged and acquitted of all charges.

 

Reacting to the verdict, Delta State Solicitor-General and Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Justice, Omamuzo Erebe (SAN), who led the prosecution team, described the decision as a landmark judgment and a significant victory for justice.

 

He extended the condolences of the Delta State Government and the Ministry of Justice to the bereaved family, noting that although the judgment could not restore the life of the deceased, it offered long-awaited closure after years of legal proceedings.

 

Erebe also said the conviction should serve as a strong warning to young people involved in ritual killings and other criminal activities in pursuit of quick wealth, insisting that the law would ultimately catch up with offenders regardless of how long it takes.