Date: 28 November 2025
PORT HARCOURT — A Rivers State High Court sitting in Port Harcourt today sentenced Damian Okoligwe, a 400-level Petrochemical Engineering student at University of Port Harcourt (UNIPORT) to death by hanging for the brutal murder of his girlfriend, Justina Otuene, a 300-level Biochemistry student of the same university.
Delivering judgment, Justice Chiwen Nsirim Nwosu declared that the prosecution had “proved its case beyond reasonable doubt,” finding that Okoligwe intentionally caused Justina’s death. He described the crime as “intentional, calculated, coordinated and evil.
The court heard that Justina was murdered in October 2023 at Okoligwe’s residence in Mgbupba, Obio-Akpor Local Government Area. Following a neighbour’s complaint about a foul smell from the apartment, police broke in and discovered Justina’s dismembered body in a “Ghana-must-go” bag — a finding that sparked nationwide outrage.
This verdict brings closure to a case that began with Okoligwe’s arrest in 2023. The trial resumed in May 2024 after the Rivers State Government took over the prosecution. The case had earlier been before a magistrate court before being escalated to the High Court.
Outside the courtroom, the prosecuting counsel, Charles Obediah‑Mbaba, welcomed the ruling and said it would console the victim’s family and serve as a deterrent to youths who view violence as a shortcut to wealth. He called the murder “gruesome” and suggested the crime bore the hallmark of ritualistic motive, praising the court’s judgment as justice “seen and felt.
Osat-Awaji Otuene, elder brother of the deceased, described the verdict as a relief, expressing that the judgment will help the family heal from the tragic loss of their only daughter.
The sentencing adds to a growing list of convictions in Rivers State and across Nigeria involving students and young people who committed extreme acts of intimate-partner violence. The ruling underscores growing public demand for justice and heightened scrutiny of gender-based violence, ritual killings, and crimes of passion in educational institutions.
Dalena Reporters will follow up on any appeals, the execution process, as well as broader reactions from educational authorities, human-rights organizations, and student bodies across the country.