A High Court in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, has delivered its verdict on the case involving the kidnapping and murder of late Chief Abbot Ogbobula in June 2017.
Out of the four suspects arraigned, three men – Boma Thompson, Emelike Mathias, and Daniel Thankgod – have been convicted on charges of conspiracy to kidnap, kidnapping, conspiracy to murder, and murder.
Justice Monina Danagogo presided over the case, which concluded on Thursday. Despite the conviction of the three individuals, the fourth suspect, Goodnews Nwoka, was discharged and acquitted. Nwoka, who served as the Chief Security Officer (CSO) of the Local Government Area (LGA), expressed relief, stating that he was only trying to help and found himself in trouble. Nwoka had previously arrested the first defendant and handed them over to the police.
Augustine Ojekudo, counsel to Goodnews Nwoka, remarked, “This has convinced me that the courts are indeed the last hope of the common man and are indeed capable of dispensing justice.”
In the incident from June 2017, Chief Ogbobula was kidnapped in Ahoada and taken to Manikin Bush in Degema LGA, where he was held hostage and eventually succumbed to his abductors. His body was buried in a shallow grave, later exhumed during a police investigation.
The court sentenced the first, second, and fourth defendants as follows:
1. Conspiracy to Kidnap: Seven years imprisonment with no option of fine.
2. Kidnapping of Chief Abbot Ogbobula: Death sentence by hanging.
3. Conspiracy to Murder Chief Abbot Ogbobula: 14 years imprisonment with no option of fine.
4. Murder of Chief Abbot Ogbobula: Death sentence by hanging or lethal injection.
