Ex-cop to hang for murder in Bayelsa

A Bayelsa State High Court in Yenagoa has sentenced one Corporal Vincent Olama, a dismissed police officer, to death by hanging for killing a 17-year-old boy.

Justice Nayai Aganaba, while delivering the judgment on Friday, said Olama was found guilty of killing Innocent Kokorifa in Okaka, Yenagoa Local Government Area of the state on August 18, 2016.

He said the prosecution called 10 witnesses and produced 16 exhibits while the defence only had one witness who happened to be the accused.

He stated that the onus of proof that the accused committed the murder of Kokorifa rested with the prosecution, in line with the three ingredients to prove a murder case.

The judgment reads, “That the death of the deceased was caused by the accused; and the action of the accused which caused the death of the deceased was intentional with the knowledge that death or grievous bodily harm was probable consequence.

“Therefore, I hereby pronounce my sentence, and my sentence upon you is that you shall hang on the neck until you die, may the Lord have mercy on your soul.”

The convict, who hails from Southern Ijaw Local Government Area of Bayelsa, was attached to the AntiVice/Kidnapping team of the Nigerian Police Force.

The father of the deceased, Daniel Kokorifa, an official of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), expressed delight at the outcome of the trial.

He said, “My son, Innocent, has been proven innocent that he is not an armed robber or a cultist, I am happy that justice has prevailed to show that the judiciary is really working.”