The accused, Sotonye Martin, Innocent Oluche and Wachukwu Ugochukwu committed the murder on November 8 this year. Counsel to the DSS, Mr...
The accused, Sotonye Martin, Innocent Oluche and Wachukwu Ugochukwu committed the murder on November 8 this year.
Counsel to the DSS, Mr C. S. Eze, told the court that the first defendant, Mr. Sotonye Martin, lured the deceased, who he had a 13-year-old daughter with, to the house of the second defendant, Innocent Oluche, where he allegedly stabbed her to death.
He claimed the first and second defendants later buried the deceased in a shallow grave, noting that they invited the third defendant, Wachukwu Ugochukwu, a spiritualist, to perform some #rituals. *
According to him, the accused were brought before the court on a three-count charge which included “stabbing to death with a jack knife and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 316 and punishable under Section 319 of the Criminal Code Law, Laws of Rivers State 1999.”
The accused did not take plea. Chief Magistrate F. Alikor referred the casefile to the state Director of Public Prosecution, saying her court did not have jurisdiction to entertain matters over murder which was second charge.
She remanded the accused in prison custody and adjourned the matter indefinitely. Elder brother to the deceased, Mr Amatu Phillips, while speaking to newsmen, alleged that his sister was murdered by the boyfriend of 13 years, Mr. Martin because of her wealth.
He claimed she had some money in her account and confided in the boyfriend who later kept on pestering her for financial support. *
According to him, after the sister had allegedly given him money several times, he came again demanding for N1 million which she refused. He alleged that the boyfriend late. //
