A Rivers State High Court in Port Harcourt has convicted and sentenced three individuals to death by hanging for their involvement in the kidnapping and murder of pharmacist Muenalo Sunday.
The convicts, Confidence Kirinee (aka General Illa), Precious Mona, and Soniabari Sagha were found guilty of conspiracy, cultism, kidnapping, and murder.
Additionally, Loveday Legah was sentenced to life imprisonment for belonging to a secret cult group linked to the crime.
Delivering the judgement, Justice Augusta Chukwu stated that the prosecution had proven the charges against the three convicts beyond a reasonable doubt, while the cultism charge was established against Legah.
Crime details
The court heard that the victim, a pharmacist from Zaakpo community in Khana Local Government Area, was abducted and murdered on March 5, 2019.
Evidence presented, including confessional statements, showed that the convicts, alleged members of the Iceland cult group conspired to kidnap and kill the victim. The court was told that the suspects severed the victim’s head and other body parts, dumping the remains in a pit, while the head was reportedly taken to a shrine in a neighboring community.
Justice Chukwu ruled that Loveday Legah would spend the rest of his life in prison, while Kirinee, Mona, and Sagha would be hanged by the neck until dead.
Counsel to the convicted declined to comment on the judgement. Meanwhile, Prosecuting Counsel Precious Ordu, a Chief State Counsel with the Rivers State Ministry of Justice, commended the court for a thorough ruling, describing it as justice for both the deceased and the living.
Reacting to the verdict, the widow of the deceased, Pretty Neewa-Sunday, expressed relief and said the judgement would finally allow her late husband’s soul to rest in peace.
The judgement closes the long-running trial over a gruesome killing that shocked residents of the Zaakpo community in Khana Local Government Area.
