3 sentenced to hang for kidnapping and murder
A High Court in Port Harcourt, the capital of Rivers State, has issued a verdict condemning three individuals to death by hanging for their involvement in the kidnapping and subsequent murder of Chief Abbot Ogbobula in June 2017.
The court originally charged four suspects in connection with the kidnapping and murder, but one of them was acquitted and discharged.
The convicted individuals are Boma Thompson, Emelike Mathias, and Daniel Thankgod. They were found guilty on four counts, including conspiracy to kidnap, kidnapping, conspiracy to murder, and murder.
Justice Monina Danagogo, in the judgment delivered on Thursday, sentenced the first, second, and fourth defendants to seven years imprisonment without the possibility of a fine for the conspiracy to kidnap.
On the charge of kidnapping, the judge imposed the death penalty by hanging for the same three defendants.
For the conspiracy to murder Chief Abbot Ogbobula, the convicts received a 14-year imprisonment sentence with no option of a fine. On the murder charge, they were once again sentenced to death, with the execution to be carried out by hanging or lethal injection.
The grim events unfolded in June 2017 when Chief Abbot Ogbobula was abducted in Ahoada, Rivers State, and transported to Manikin Bush in Degema Local Government Area.
Tragically, he succumbed to his captors in that location. Despite being initially buried in a shallow grave in the bush, the police were able to uncover and exhume his body during their investigative efforts.