A retired judge, Justice Ifeoma Okogwu, has been killed by yet-to-be-identified assailants in Asaba, the Delta State capital.

Her body was discovered late Sunday night in her Asaba residence located behind The Pointer newspaper office under disturbing circumstances, sparking tension across the state capital.

It was learnt that her killers bound her legs, hands, and ransacked the entire house, pointing to a violent attack that appeared both targeted and carefully executed.

A key twist in the unfolding investigation is the mysterious disappearance of the night security guard assigned to the Judge’s residence, who reportedly vanished shortly after the incident, heightening suspicions of internal complicity.

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The victim’s brother, Ogbueshi Godfrey Okogwu, said, “My eldest sister was murdered in her house on Sunday night. We only received the news on Monday morning, so we presume the incident happened during the night.

“A major red flag is the disappearance of the night security guard. The morning guard claimed he met the gate wide open when he arrived. He said he simply sat there. Sat there doing what? I do not know. I do not understand this situation at all.”

He added that the family had already provided the Police with the identity and details of the private security company that deployed the guards.

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He said, “Police have detained the morning guard and summoned the owner of the security outfit to report to the station. It remains unclear whether the proprietor has complied.”

“Only God knows what truly happened. We will not know anything concrete until the Police complete their investigations,” he said.

Confirming the development, the Police Public Relations Officer, Bright Edafe, disclosed that “Some of the security are in police custody while one of them is at large.”

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.

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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.

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.

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Investigators discovered the victim’s body wrapped in blood-stained sacks on a wheel barrow, 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.

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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.
(GUARDIAN)

No fewer than 37 people kidnapped by bandits in the Bakori Local Government Area (LGA) of Katsina have been freed by their abductors.

Alhaji Abdulrahman Kandarawa, the lawmaker representing Bakori constituency at the State House of Assembly, disclosed this to newsmen in Katsina on Friday.

According to him, the victims, comprising 17 women, two children, and 18 men, regained freedom on Friday, following a peace deal with bandits in the area.

He explained that the kidnap victims were released without payment of ransom as part of the agreement reached during the dialogue.

The lawmaker said that with the development, “no kidnapped victim from Bakori is still with the kidnappers, except if we are not aware of them.

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“I want to assure you that, at the moment, there are no more victims in the forest from this local government area.

“Therefore, I am appealing to the people in our communities to maintain the relative peace we are presently enjoying,” he said.

Meanwhile, Defence Minister Mohammed Badaru Abubakar has said that bandits and terrorists are hiding in the forests to avoid bombs.

The minister stated this in an interview with the BBC Hausa Service, which was monitored in Gusau, the capital of Zamfara State.

He highlighted the dangers of bombing bandits’ hideouts, noting that military operatives are close to ending banditry in the country, even amid recent school kidnappings.

Badaru pointed out that the pattern of attacks resembles guerrilla tactics, saying criminal groups strike unexpectedly to create fear.

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“This is how guerrilla warfare operates. There are calm times followed by attacks that alarm the nation,” the minister added.

He said that they know the locations of these groups, but some areas are risky for civilians, noting that some forests are inaccessible to bombs.

“We never claimed the problem was fully resolved. However, the recent kidnappings of schoolchildren concern us. We are analysing what went wrong and how to avoid it in the future.”

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“This is how guerrilla warfare works. There will be periods of calm, and then they launch an attack that shakes the nation. Yes, we know their locations, but some of these areas are places where direct strikes could endanger civilians, or forests where our bombs cannot penetrate,” he said.

Badaru confirmed that troops are working continuously to neutralise these networks. He expressed concern over renewed attacks on schools and noted that the government has ordered a full investigation into recent incidents.

“We never said the problem was completely over. But this renewed kidnapping of schoolchildren worries us. We are studying what went wrong and how to prevent a recurrence,” he said.