A High Court in Port Harcourt, the capital of Rivers State, has handed down death sentences by hanging to three individuals convicted of kidnapping and murdering Chief Abbot Ogbobula in June 2017.
Originally, four suspects were charged in connection to the kidnapping and murder case. However, one of the accused was acquitted and discharged by the court.
The trio facing the death penalty includes Boma Thompson, Emelike Mathias, and Daniel Thankgod. They were found guilty on multiple counts, including conspiracy to kidnap, kidnapping, conspiracy to murder, and murder.
In the judgment delivered by Justice Monina Danagogo on Thursday, the first, second, and fourth defendants were sentenced to seven years imprisonment without the option of a fine for the conspiracy to kidnap. On the charge of kidnapping, they received the death penalty by hanging.
Regarding the conspiracy to murder Chief Abbot Ogbobula, the court imposed a 14-year prison sentence with no option of a fine. For the murder itself, the three convicts were sentenced to death by hanging or lethal injection.
The tragic incident unfolded in June 2017 when Chief Abbot Ogbobula was abducted in Ahoada, Rivers State, and later transported to Manikin Bush in Degema LGA, where he ultimately lost his life at the hands of his captors. Despite attempts to conceal the crime by burying the victim in a shallow grave in the bush, diligent police investigations led to the discovery and exhumation of his body.
