A new generation Church pastor, Chidiebere Okoroafor, has been sentenced to death by hanging for multiple murders by a High Court in Port Harcourt.
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Pastor Okoroafor, who serves as the General Overseer of the Altar of Solution and Healing Assembly in Oyigbo, Rivers State, stood trial for the killings of his choir mistress, Orlunma Nwagba, whom he allegedly impregnated.
He was also facing murder charges for the deaths of Orlunma’s friend, Chigozie Ezenwa, and her 11-month-old baby girl, Cresabel, on December 11, 2017, in Oyigbo Local Government Area.
The trial judge, S.O Benson, delivered the judgment, stating that the evidence and confessional statements from the pastor proved his involvement in the crimes.
Justice Benson declared that the prosecution successfully demonstrated the case of murder against the pastor and ordered that he be hanged by the neck until dead or be administered a lethal injection, which is a faster method of execution.
According to reports, the women had visited the pastor’s residence in Oyigbo for a discussion regarding the alleged pregnancy when he lured them into a bush and committed the crimes in two different locations.
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Pastor Okoroafor was arrested by the Rivers State Police Command on December 17, 2017, following an alert raised by Chigozie’s husband concerning the deaths of three individuals in separate locations in Oyigbo LGA.
Outside the courtroom, the prosecution counsel from the state Ministry of Justice, Precious Ordu, expressed satisfaction with the judgment.
Ordu acknowledged the threats the prosecution had received during the trial and expressed relief that justice had been served.
“Justice has been served to the state, the complainant, and the convict. This will serve as a deterrent to all those who intend to commit the same offense because it is justice for all,” he said.
Ordu appreciated the International Federation of Women Lawyers, who brought up the case before the state took over.
Speaking also, Counsel to the defendant, Dr Innocent Ekwu, said he and his team would appeal the judgment because the court ‘misconceived the law’
Ekwu said, “The court held that there was no eyewitness, not even one throughout the trial. The court also held that there was no circumstantial evidence linking the fellow to murder.”
He, however, said that the court convicted the accused of murder on account of his confessional statements.
“We, as counsel to the defendant, have decided to appeal the case. We are going to file our notice of appeal as quickly as possible because we have grounds on which we believe that the defendant did not commit the offense. And that the trial court misapprehended the facts and also misconceived the law,” he added.
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