Court Sentences Two to Death Over Murder of DELSU Student Elozino Ogege

A Delta State High Court sitting in Ogwashi-Uku has sentenced two men, Desmond Macaulay Oghenemaro and Enaike Onoriode, to death by hanging for the 2018 murder of Miss Elozino Ogege, a student of Delta State University (DELSU), Abraka.

The judgment was delivered on Thursday, July 30, by Justice F. N. Azinge, bringing to a close an eight-year legal battle over one of Delta State’s most widely reported murder cases.

The court also discharged and acquitted the second defendant, Nwonsisi Benedict Uche, of the eight-count charge brought against him.

Elozino Ogege was brutally murdered in 2018. Investigators alleged that parts of her body were removed in connection with a ritual killing.

During the trial, it was revealed that a herbalist who allegedly instructed the suspects to procure human parts for ritual purposes died in custody while awaiting trial.

The prosecution was led by the Solicitor-General of Delta State, Omamuzo Erebe, SAN, and his legal team.

Reacting to the judgment, the Senior Special Assistant to the Delta State Governor on Human Rights, Comrade Kelvin Ejumudo, welcomed the court’s decision, describing it as justice finally served.

“Justice delayed indeed is not justice denied. Finally, the voice of the people prevailed,” he said.

Ejumudo, who is also the National Secretary of the Human Rights Protection Congress (HRPC) and Director of Human Rights and Social Justice in Delta State, commended the prosecution team, the Nigeria Police Force, Delta State Command, and all those who contributed to the successful prosecution of the case.

He also praised media organisations and Nigerians who consistently advocated for justice for the late university student.

The judgment concludes a case that attracted widespread public attention and renewed conversations about ritual-related killings and the need for timely justice in Nigeria.