2 Delta Poly students jailed 14-year, another sentenced to death
By Olasunkanmi Olabimtan
A student of the Delta State Polytechnic, Ogwashi-Uku, Ndudi Ogwu, 22, was on Tuesday sentenced by a State High Court sitting in Asaba to 14 years imprisonment with hard labour for kidnapping a nurse.
Akpeghughu had attacked one George Ogbemudia at Bazunu junction, Warri and robbed him of his wrist watch, a necklace, Sony Ericsson handset and cash all worth about N30,000 on 4th January 2008.
Also jailed along with Ogwu, an ND II mechanical engineering student of the Polytechnic was another young man identified as Chukwudi Ifemeni, aged 22. They were both sentenced to 10 years on each count of kidnapping and four years for conspiracy.
The Court held that the prosecution had proved its case against the two accused persons beyond reasonable doubt and thus convicted and sentenced them accordingly in the abduction that took place on September 13, 2012 at Ughelli.
The two convicted for kidnapping were arrested at the time their victim was rescued by a combined team of men of the Joint Task Force, JTF, and members of the Ughelli Vigilante group, Ughelli North Local Government Area of the state.
Their victim, identified as Mrs Kate Okogu, was kidnapped at 7:40 pm on the fateful day in 2012, as she was about entering her residence at Amekpa area in the Ughelli metropolis.
The kidnappers, who came in a red mazda at the time, whisked away the unsuspecting woman who is a matron in the local government Health Department in her Toyota corolla at gun point after threatening to shoot her gateman.
Okogu was rescued from the kidnappers den in a bush between Ewhosigba/Oghenerue, Iyede, Isoko North Local Government Area of the State.
The victim was being guarded in the bush by the two boys who took off on sighting security agents and members of the Vigilante group.
The conviction of the students took place about two weeks after another student of the same school, Eguono Akpeghughu, who is also 22 years old, was sentenced to death by hanging after he was found guilty of armed robbery by a Warri High Court.