A Rivers State High Court in Port Harcourt has found five individuals guilty of the murder of Umezuruike Alex, the leader of a local vigilante group known as OSPAC in Omudioga community in Emohua Local Government Area of the state. The court has sentenced them to death by hanging.
The court has ruled that the convicted individuals should be hanged or receive lethal injection until their deaths are confirmed.
The convicted individuals, including Okechukwu Orji from Atali community in Obio-Akpor, Igwe Promise, Iheanyi Igwe, Morrison Igwe from Omudioga in Emohua LGA, and Goodness Monday from Akwa Ibom State, were found guilty of 10 counts of conspiracy, cultism, murder, and illegal possession of firearms.
The trial Judge, Justice Sika Aprioku, has acquitted the sixth defendant, Alex Deiwe.
Justice Aprioku has upheld the prosecution counsel, Essien Edet's case against the five convicts on charges of conspiracy, cultism, illegal possession of firearms, and murder. Subsequently, they were convicted and sentenced to hanging or lethal injection until their deaths are confirmed.
The court also found the convicts not only responsible for the murder of the OSPAC commander of the Omudioga community but also involved in kidnapping and other criminal activities in parts of the state before their arrest and prosecution.
Following the court's decision, the prosecution counsel, Essien Edet, a legal officer at the Rivers State Police Command, expressed satisfaction with the judgment, describing it as justice served.
Edet further mentioned that it would serve as a warning to others involved in similar crimes.
He remarked, "I can say that justice has been served. It is a case of the murder of the former OSPAC Commander of Omudioga community in Emuoha LGA. The case has been ongoing for years. It was a case in which this OSPAC Commander was brutally murdered and dismembered by this group of criminals.
Today, the court has finally ruled on the matter, and I believe justice has been served. It is a lesson for all those who commit serious crimes, taking lives as if they are not valuable. Justice will catch up with them unless they repent."
Our correspondent noted that the former OSPAC commander, Umezuruike Alex, was killed and dismembered by the cultists in 2021, who perceived him as a threat to their criminal activities in the area.
OSPAC stands for Onelga Security Peace and Advisory Committee.
