The Anambra High Court in Ogidi Judicial Division has sentenced two men, Elochukwu Belonwu and Chukwuebuka Ofokwu, to death by hanging for conspiracy, rape and the murder of a 17-year-old girl, Jennifer Anene.
The presiding judge, U. I. Ndigwe, who delivered the judgment on Friday in a Suit No. HID/23C/2021, held that the prosecution had proved the three-count charges against the defendants beyond a reasonable doubt.
The judge condemned the acts of the convicts, describing them as a violation that demanded accountability and had desecrated societal values.
Leading the prosecution, Principal State Counsel Florence Abadom-Igweike told the court that the deceased, said to be mentally impaired, was reported missing on 25 November 2020 by her grandfather, Pius Anene.
She said that three days later, the first defendant’s wife told the family that she had witnessed her husband and others sexually assaulting the deceased as she screamed for help.
