Delta Court Imprisons Undergraduate, Businessman For kidnapping

Posted by African Examiner Crime Watch, Latest Headlines, News Wednesday, July 2nd, 2014

Ignatius Okpara, Asaba

A Delta State High Court sitting in Asaba, the state capital, Tuesday sentenced an undergraduate, Ogwashi-Uku, Ndudi Ogwu of Delta State Polytechnic and a businessman, Chukwudi Ifemeni to 14 years imprisonment, with hard labour each, for kidnaping a nurse.

Ogwu, an ND II student Ifemeni were sentenced to 10 years each, for abduction and four years for conspiracy.

The court held that the prosecutor had proved his case against the two accused persons beyond reasonable doubt, hence, convicted accordingly.

The prosecutor told the court that the accused persons with two others now at large kidnapped Mrs. Kate Okogu, wife of Mr. Paul Okogu, a prominent politician in the State on September 13, 2012 at Ughelli.

African Examiner learnt that the accused took the victim to a forest along Isoko-Patani road where she was held hostage, but was later rescued by a team of military men the next day.

The convicts initially admitted in their confessional statements to have committed the offence upon their arrest, but later denied the charges during trial.

In a similar development, another High Court in Asaba has discharged and acquitted Aghogho Oghenekoko and David Akwele who were arraigned before it on charges of conspiracy and kidnapping of a 70-year-old mother of the House of Representatives member, Hon Akpodiegaga Emeyese. of Ethiope Constituency.

The aged mother, it was gathered was held for 12 days, while her captors demanded N30m ransom to secure her release.

Discharging the two accused persons on the ground of insufficient evidence linking them to the dastardly act, the court held that it could not rely on their confessional statements alone without corroborations.