A Rivers State High Court sitting in Port Harcourt has sentenced five men to death by hanging or by lethal injection for the murder of Umezuruike Alex.
Alex was the Commander of ONELGA Security Peace and Advisory Council, popularly known as OSPAC in the Omudioga Community in Emohua Local Government Area of Rivers State.
The convicts are: Okechukwu Orjj from Atali community in Obio-Akpor, Igwe Promise, Iheanyi Igwe, Morrison Igwe all from Omudioga in Emohua Local Government Area and Goodness Monday from Akwa Ibom.
The five were found guilty of a 10-count charge of conspiracy, cultism, murder and illegal possession of firearms.
Justice Sika Aprioku, in his judgment on Monday, discharged and acquitted, Alex Deiwe, the sixth defendant.
Justice Aprioku held that the prosecution proved its case beyond reasonable doubt against the five convicts.
Additionally, the court held that the convicts did not only murder the OSPAC Commander of Omudioga community but were also involved in kidnapping and other criminal activities in parts of the state before their arrest and commencement of prosecution.
The Prosecuting Counsel, Essein Edet, who is the Officer in charge of legal annex DFA, Rivers State Police command, expressed happiness over the judgement.
He described it as justice well served that would also serve as deterrent to others involved in such crimes.
In 2021, the late Omudioga OSPAC Commander, Umezuruike Alex, was killed, beheaded and had his body dismembered by cultists for leading his operatives to fight against cultists and their criminal activities in the area.
