Delta Court Sentences Two to Death for Kidnap, Murder of DELSU Student

A Delta State High Court sitting in Ogwashi Uku has sentenced two men, Macaulay Desmond Oghenemaro and Enaike Onoriode, to death by hanging for the 2019 kidnapping and murder of Elozino Joshualia Ogege, a 300 level Mass Communication student of Delta State University, Abraka.

Justice Flora Ngozi Azinge delivered the judgment on Wednesday, July 29, 2026, after a legal battle that lasted about nine years.

The court found Oghenemaro and Onoriode guilty of conspiracy to commit kidnapping, kidnapping, conspiracy to commit murder and murder.

Ogege was abducted in 2019 after she was allegedly lured under the pretext of meeting an agent to secure off campus accommodation.

Prosecutors told the court that she was subsequently killed in what was described as a ritual murder allegedly linked to suspected internet fraud activities.

During the trial, the prosecution presented evidence detailing the brutal circumstances surrounding the student’s death.

The case suffered several delays and adjournments over the years, including repeated absence of counsel representing the first defendant. The trial eventually progressed after the adoption of final written addresses earlier this year.

A third defendant, Nwosisi Benedict Uche, was discharged and acquitted by the court, while a fourth defendant, native doctor Robinson Obajero Ojokojo, died during the trial.

Delivering the judgment, Justice Azinge convicted Oghenemaro and Onoriode for their respective roles in the abduction and murder of Ogege and sentenced them to death by hanging on the murder conviction.

Reacting to the judgment, the Delta State Solicitor General and Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Justice, Omamuzo Erebe, SAN, who led the prosecution team, described the ruling as a landmark judgment.

The case has attracted significant public attention over the years, particularly because of the victim’s age, academic standing and the brutal circumstances surrounding her death.