Damian Okoligwe, a 400-level Petrochemical Engineering student at the University of Port Harcourt (UNIPORT), has been sentenced to death by hanging by a Rivers State High Court in Port Harcourt for the murder of his girlfriend, Justina Nkemenna Otuene, a 300-level biochemistry student of the same institution.
The incident occurred on October 20, 2023, at Okoligwe’s apartment in Mgbuoba, Obio/Akpor Local Government Area of Rivers State.
The convict strangled Otuene to death during an argument, dismembered her body, packed the remains into a bag, placed it in a wheelbarrow, and was about to dispose of it when he was caught by neighbours who alerted the police.
Delivering judgement on Friday, Chinwe Nsirim-Nwosu, the presiding judge, held that the prosecution, led by the Rivers state ministry of justice, proved beyond reasonable doubt all three ingredients of murder: that the deceased died, that it was the intentional act of the defendant that caused the death, and that the act was done with the knowledge that it would result in death.
The judge described Okoligwe’s actions as “intentional, composed, calculated, coordinated, and evil,” adding that there was no material contradiction in the prosecution’s evidence.
“The defendant is hereby sentenced to death by hanging on the neck until he be confirmed dead,” Nsirim-Nwosu ruled.
Reacting to the verdict, Osatawaji Otuene, elder brother of the deceased, expressed relief and commended the judge for a “detailed and well-structured judgement”.
“I feel good. It is a relief because at least it is certain that my sister didn’t die for nothing,” he told journalists outside the courtroom.
