Francis Dufugha
…Third Defendant Dies in Court Premises Before Judgment
A Bayelsa State High Court has sentenced two men to death by hanging for their involvement in the 2022 killing of Odeinyefa Ogbolosingha, an in-law to Governor Douye Diri, Paramount Ruler Kolibo Francis Amabelimo, and Samuel Oburo in Kalaba community, Yenagoa Local Government Area of the state.
The convicts, identified as Gideon Atama, 32, and Clever OVO, 33, were standing trial on charges bordering on conspiracy, kidnapping, murder and attempted murder in suit number BYHC/YHC/CR/32/2025.
The presiding judge, Justice Michael Amadise Ekade, handed down the death sentences after considering the evidence presented before the court and finding the defendants guilty of the offences.
Meanwhile, one of the defendants, 50-year-old Bethlehem Nwanlia, reportedly slumped and died within the court premises while awaiting the delivery of judgment.
Nwanlia was said to have developed health complications, including high blood pressure and stroke, while in custody at the Okaka Medium Correctional Centre.
The two convicts were reportedly arrested by police operatives attached to the Violent Crime Response Unit (VCRU), formerly known as Operation Puff Adder, under the leadership of CSP Chris Nwaogbo.
Reacting to the judgment, some family members of the deceased victims expressed appreciation to the operatives of the VCRU for the arrests and investigation that led to the prosecution of the suspects.
They also commended the Bayelsa State Government, particularly the Ministry of Justice, for what they described as diligent prosecution of the case.
The judgment brings a major development in the prosecution of the 2022 killings, which claimed the lives of the three victims in Kalaba community.
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