A High Court in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, has handed down death sentences to five individuals for the murder of Umezuruike Alex, a former commander of the local vigilante group known as OSPAC (Onelga Security Peace and Advisory Committee) in Omudioga community, Emohua Local Government Area.
The brutal killing occurred in 2021, where the victim was beheaded and dismembered by the assailants, who were identified as cultists.
The court ruled that the convicted individuals—Okechukwu Orji from Atali community in Obio-Akpor; Igwe Promise, Iheanyi Igwe, Morrison Igwe, from Omudioga in Emohua LGA; and Goodness Monday from Akwa Ibom State—should be sentenced to death by hanging or lethal injection until confirmed dead.
They were found guilty on 10 counts, including conspiracy, cultism, murder, and illegal possession of firearms.
However, the sixth defendant in the case, Alex Deiwe, was acquitted and discharged by the trial Judge, Justice Sika Aprioku. Justice Aprioku, in delivering the judgment, affirmed that the prosecution counsel, Essien Edet, successfully established the case against the five convicts, leading to their conviction.
He emphasized their involvement in various criminal activities, including kidnapping, prior to their arrest and prosecution.
Following the verdict, Essien Edet, the prosecution counsel and a legal officer at the Rivers State Police Command, expressed satisfaction, describing the judgment as a triumph for justice. He emphasized the significance of the ruling as a deterrent to others involved in similar crimes, stating,:
“Justice has been served. It is a lesson to all those who are going about committing heinous crimes, killing people, taking the lives of human beings as if such are not valuable that justice is also coming after them except they repent.”
