Imo court sentences 28-year-old POS operator to death for kidnapping, murder

An Imo State High Court sitting in Urualla, Orlu Judicial Division, has sentenced Isaac Okorie, a 28-year-old point-of-sale (POS) operator, to death by hanging for his role in the murder of an 83-year-old man and his driver.

Okorie was convicted on six counts bordering on armed robbery, hostage-taking and murder.

In his judgment on Tuesday, Justice Matthew Ijezie, the presiding judge, held that the prosecution had proved its case beyond reasonable doubt through its witnesses.

The judge said the circumstances surrounding the case established Okorie’s guilt on all six counts.

Recalling the case, the judge narrated that “on the 14th day of October, 2023, at Isiekenesi, Ideato-south LGA of Imo state, the defendant, Isaac Okorie as an accomplice to the crime conspired with his gang members while armed with guns and took Chief Alexander Chukwuma Okoli, an eighty-three-year-old and his driver, Daniel Sarki, hostage in the bush.”

The gang reportedly took the two men into a bush and stole Okoli’s gold-coloured Toyota Corolla, with registration number AAH 989 RM.

According to the judge, the gang demanded a ransom of N100 million from the victims’ family, which eventually paid N2.515 million.

However, the gang went ahead to kill the two men and sent photographs of their lifeless bodies to the family.

The bodies have yet to be recovered.

The court heard that police investigations established that Okorie’s role in the gang’s operations was to receive ransom payments from victims’ families.

After finding him guilty on all six counts, the court called for allocutus — an opportunity for a convicted person to plead for leniency before sentencing. Okorie pleaded for mercy.

The judge, however, sentenced him to death by hanging.

Speaking after the judgment, Ikenna Obi, a senior state counsel with the Imo state ministry of justice who prosecuted the case, described the ruling as significant.

Obi said the judgment would bring some measure of relief to the victims’ family, although their remains had not been recovered.

He also said the ruling would deter people involved in criminal activities and those considering joining such groups, adding that offenders would eventually face the law.

Obi commended the judge for delivering what he described as a well-considered judgment in accordance with the law.

Amanda, the daughter of one of the victims, also expressed relief that the defendant had been punished.

She said the family remained distressed by the fact that her father’s body and that of his driver were yet to be found, but added that the judgment offered some comfort.

Amanda expressed hope that other suspects still at large would be arrested and brought to justice.