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

Okoligwe, a Petrochemical Engineering student, killed Otuene, a 300-level Biochemistry student, on October 20, 2023, at his Mgbuogba apartment in Obio-Akpor Local Government Area.
He dismembered her body and dumped it in a wheelbarrow, planning to dispose of it before his arrest.

The trial judge, Justice Chinwe Nsirum-Nwosu, delivered the judgment, stating that the prosecution proved the three ingredients of murder against Okoligwe.
The judge described Okoligwe’s actions as intentional, composed, calculated, and evil, with no contradiction in the evidence.

Speaking outside the courtroom, the prosecution, led by Charles Mbaba, expressed satisfaction with the judgment, saying it would bring closure to Otuene’s family and serve as a deterrent to others.
Okoligwe’s counsel declined to comment on the judgment, while Otuene’s brother, Osatawaji Otuene, welcomed the verdict, saying it brought relief to the family.

Time of Murder

The Guardian reports the incident occurred in Mgbuoba, Port Harcourt, when estate security discovered the body of the young woman in Okoligwe’s apartment on NTA Road. Police were alerted after Okoligwe was seen attempting to move her remains, and he was subsequently arrested.
Videos circulated on social media showed the suspect in handcuffs being led by police officers to his apartment.

Investigators discovered the victim’s body wrapped in blood-stained sacks on a wheelbarrow, with blood also visible on the floor.
Okoligwe, who was a fellow UNIPORT student, admitted that Tiffany was his girlfriend and that her body was found in his apartment, but he denied responsibility for her death.

He told police he discovered her lifeless and did not report it due to illness, remaining in the apartment despite the decomposition and odour.
The police noted that several body parts were missing, raising suspicions that dismemberment may have been ritualistic.

The University of Port Harcourt Vice-Chancellor stated at the time, “Justice must be done for this matter because no student here has the right to kill or assault anyone. The punishment for physical violence is outright expulsion.”
Following the arrest, the Rivers State Police transferred the case to the State Criminal Investigations Department for further investigation. The victim’s remains were deposited in a mortuary for autopsy.

Two years after the incident, the court handed down a death sentence to Okoligwe.