A Rivers State High Court sitting in Port Harcourt has convicted and sentenced three persons to death by hanging for their roles in the kidnapping and murder of a pharmacist, Muenalo Sunday.
The convicts, Confidence Kirinee, popularly known as General Illa, Precious Mona, and Soniabari Sagha, were found guilty of conspiracy, cultism, kidnapping and murder.
The court also sentenced Loveday Legah to life imprisonment for belonging to a secret cult group linked to the crime.
Delivering judgement, Justice Augusta Chukwu held that the prosecution successfully proved the charges against the three convicts beyond a reasonable doubt, while the offence of cultism was established against Legah.
The court heard that the victim, a pharmacist from the Zaakpo community in the Khana Local Government Area of Rivers State, was abducted and murdered on March 5, 2019.
According to the judge, confessional statements and other evidence presented before the court showed that the convicts, who were said to be members of the Iceland cult group, conspired to kidnap and kill the victim.
The court further heard that the suspects severed the victim’s head and other sensitive body parts before dumping his remains in a pit, while the head was allegedly taken to a shrine located in a bush in a neighbouring community.
Justice Chukwu ruled that Loveday Legah should spend the rest of his life in prison, while Confidence Kirinee, Precious Mona and Soniabari Sagha are to be hanged by the neck until they are confirmed dead.
Counsel to the convicted persons declined to comment on the judgement.
However, the prosecuting counsel, Precious Ordu, a Chief State Counsel with the Rivers State Ministry of Justice, commended the court for what he described as a thorough judgement, noting that it represents justice for both the deceased and the living.
Reacting to the verdict, the widow of the deceased, Pretty Neewa-Sunday, expressed relief and happiness over the judgement, saying it would allow the soul of her late husband to rest in peace finally.
The judgement brings to a close the long-running trial over the gruesome killing that shocked residents of the Zaakpo community in Khana Local Government Area.
