Omon-Julius Onabu in Asaba
For adopting and murdering Miss Elozino Joshualia Ogege, a 300-level Mass Communication student at the Delta State University (DELSU), Abraka, a Delta State High Court in Ogwashi-Uku has sentenced two men to death by hanging.
The men, Macaulay Desmond Oghenemaro and Enaike Onoriode, were charged with conspiracy to commit kidnapping, kidnapping, conspiracy to commit murder, and actual murder of the victim.
However, the court discharged and acquitted the third defendant, Nwosisi Benedict Uche, due to insufficient evidence to sustain the charges against him.
The fourth defendant, Robinson Obajero Ojokojo, the native doctor, who acted as the ritual consultant for the criminals, had died during the course of the seven-year trial.
The judgment, delivered last Wednesday by Justice Flora Ngozi Azinge, finally drew the curtains on the prolonged legal battle following one of Delta State and Nigeria’s money ritual killings.
The deceased victim, Elozino Ogege, an Isoko indigene of Delta State, was gruesomely murdered in 2019 after reportedly leaving to meet a house agent who reportedly promised to help her secure an off-campus accommodation within the university community of Abraka, provoking widespread outrage.
Parts of her body were reportedly severed in what investigators linked to a ritual killing involving suspected internet fraudsters, otherwise known in local parlance as ‘Yahoo Boys’.
The Delta State Government, through the Office of the Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, arraigned the defendants on an eight-count charge bordering on conspiracy, kidnapping, armed robbery, membership of an unlawful society, and murder.
After numerous adjournments and following the adoption of final written addresses earlier this year, Justice Azinge reserved judgment, which was eventually delivered on July 29, 2026.
Reacting to the judgment, the Solicitor-General and Permanent Secretary of the Delta State Ministry of Justice, Omamuzo Erebe (SAN), who led the prosecution alongside Okolotu Ugochukwu and Funkekeme Solomon Jnr, described the verdict as a landmark judgment and a significant victory for justice.
“Today, we witnessed the conclusion of a trial that commenced about nine years ago. The court found the first and second defendants guilty of conspiracy to commit kidnapping, and kidnapping, as well as conspiracy to commit murder, and the actual murder.
“They received various terms of imprisonment on the different counts, but for the offences of conspiracy to commit murder and the murder of Miss Elozino Ogege, they were sentenced to death by hanging,” Erebe said.
He expressed sympathy with the deceased’s family, saying the judgment would hopefully bring them some measure of relief.
According to him, “On behalf of the Delta State Government and the Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, we extend our condolences to the family. They have waited for nine years for justice, and today, justice has finally been served. Although this judgment cannot bring Elozino back, we hope it will help the family find closure.”
He expressed hope that the judgment would send a strong warning against ritual killings and other violent crimes in Nigeria.
“This judgment sends a clear message to young people seeking quick wealth through ritual killings or other criminal means. No matter how long it takes, the law will eventually catch up with offenders. I urge everyone to desist from crime because the law will always take its course,” he stated.