Rivers Court Sentences Seven to Death for Kidnap and Murder of Clergyman
By Paul Ogbonna
E-ISSN:2354-4481
A Rivers State High Court sitting in Port Harcourt has sentenced seven persons, including a pair of twin brothers, to death by hanging after finding them guilty of the kidnapping and murder of Reverend Edwin Isaiah Dokubo-Harry.
Delivering judgment, Justice Boma Diepiri held that the prosecution successfully established its case against the convicted persons in connection with the abduction and killing of the cleric, an incident that occurred in 2013 in Asari Toru Local Government Area of Rivers State.
The court, however, discharged and acquitted two defendants, Emmanuel Israel and Nephew Philemon, of a 25-count charge bordering on conspiracy, kidnapping, murder, unlawful possession of firearms, and related criminal offences, citing insufficient evidence linking them to the crimes.
According to evidence presented before the court, the convicts, alongside other suspects still at large, allegedly lured Reverend Dokubo-Harry to a forest in Abalama Community on December 6, 2013. The cleric was reportedly abducted, restrained, and subsequently killed, after which his body was abandoned in a creek within the area.
Justice Diepiri found that the prosecution proved beyond a reasonable doubt the offences of conspiracy, kidnapping, murder, unlawful possession of firearms, and other criminal acts against Precious Jack Opara, Answer Dick, Osaki Fubara, Prince Mikado Philip, Tienabeso George, Seleipri Fubara, and Alaboeriya Fubara.
Consequently, the court sentenced the seven convicts to death by hanging in accordance with the applicable provisions of the law. The judge also directed that the firearm and other exhibits recovered during the investigation be handed over to the Nigeria Police Force for proper custody and disposal in line with legal procedures.
The judgment brought emotional scenes inside the courtroom, as some of the convicted persons and their relatives reportedly broke down in tears following the pronouncement of the verdict.
The ruling brings to a close a legal process that lasted more than a decade and underscores the judiciary’s determination to hold perpetrators of violent crimes accountable while providing justice for victims and their families.
