A Rivers State High Court in Port Harcourt has sentenced a 400-level student of the University of Port Harcourt to death by hanging for the murder of his girlfriend.
According to court records, the incident occurred on October 20, 2023, inside the apartment of the convict, Damian Okoligwe, in Mgbuosimini, Obio-Akpor Local Government Area.
Prosecutors told the court Okoligwe not only killed his victim, Justina Otuene, a 300-level Biochemistry student of the same institution, but also dismembered her body and placed the parts in a wheelbarrow in an attempt to dispose of them before he was apprehended.
In a detailed judgment, the trial judge, Justice Chinwe Nsirirm-Nwosu, ruled that the prosecution had proven all elements of the murder charge beyond a reasonable doubt.
The judge described Okoligwe’s actions as “intentional, calculated, and chillingly coordinated,” noting that testimonies from witnesses and exhibits tendered in court “left no room for contradiction”.