Rivers Pastor Sentenced To Death By Hanging Over Multiple Murder
A High Court in Port Harcourt has sentenced Pastor Chidiebere Okoroafor, the General Overseer of the Altar of Solution and Healing Assembly in Oyigbo, Rivers State, to death for multiple murders.
Okoroafor was on trial for allegedly murdering his choir mistress, Orlunma Nwagba, with whom he had a child.
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He was also accused of murdering Orlunma’s friend Chigozie Ezenwa and her 11-month-old daughter Cresabel in the Oyigbo Local Government Area of Rivers State on December 11, 2017.
In his ruling, the trial judge, S.O. Benson, stated that the pastor’s confessional statements and the evidence established his guilt.
Justice Benson stated that the prosecution proved the case of murder against the cleric and ordered that he be hanged until he is dead or injected with a lethal injection, which is also faster.
The women were at the pastor’s home in Oyigbo to discuss the pregnancy when he allegedly lured them into a bush and committed the act in two separate locations.
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Men of the Rivers State Police Command arrested Pastor Okoroafor on December 17, 2017, in response to an alert raised by Chigozie’s husband regarding the murder of three individuals at two different locations in Oyigbo LGA.
Precious Ordu, a prosecutor from the state Ministry of Justice, expressed delight with the verdict to reporters outside the courtroom.
Noting that the prosecution had received numerous threats during the trial, Ordu expressed his delight that justice had prevailed.
He stated, “Justice has been administered to the state, the complainant, and the convicted individual.
“This will serve as a deterrent for those who intend to commit the same crime, as justice is served to all.”
Ordu thanked the International Federation of Women Lawyers for bringing the case to the state’s attention before it was taken over.
Dr. Innocent Ekwu, counsel for the defendant, stated that he and his team will appeal the verdict on the grounds that the court “misunderstood the law.”
Ekwu stated, “The court ruled that there was not a single eyewitness throughout the entire trial.” Additionally, the court determined that there was no circumstantial evidence linking the defendant to the murder.
“However, the court found him guilty of murder based on his confessional statements.
“As counsel for the defendant, we have decided to file an appeal. We will file our notice of appeal as soon as possible, as we have grounds for believing that the defendant did not commit the offence.
In addition, the trial court misunderstood both the facts and the law.
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