A Pastor identified as, Chidiebere Okoroafor is to die by hanging for killing his choir mistress, Orlunma Nwagba, who he allegedly impregnated.
Okoroafor, who is the General Overseer of the Altar of Solution and Healing Assembly based in Oyigbo, Rivers State, was sentenced by the High Court sitting in Port Harcourt.
The Pastor also faced murder charges for the killing of Nwagba’s friend, Chigozie Ezenwa, and her eleven-month-old daughter, Cresabel, on December 11, 2017, in the Oyigbo Local Government Area of the state.
The pastor’s confessional statement and the evidence, according to the trial judge S.O. Benson, proved that he committed the crimes.
Justice Benson said the prosecution proved the case of murder against the cleric and ordered that he should be killed by hanging him by the neck until he is dead or should be injected with a lethal injection which also kills faster.
Speaking to journalists outside the courtroom, the prosecution counsel from the state Ministry of Justice, Precious Ordu, expressed happiness over the judgment.
He said, “Justice has been served to the state, the complainant and the convict. This will serve as a deterrent to all those who intend to commit the same offence because it is justice for all”.
On his part, counsel for the defendant, Innocent Ekwu, said he and his team would appeal the judgment.
“We, as counsel for the defendant, have decided to appeal the case. We are going to file our notice of appeal as quickly as possible because we have grounds on which we believe that the defendant did not commit the offence.”
