A High Court sitting in Port Harcourt, Rivers State capital, has sentenced three men to death by hanging for kidnapping and murder.
The convicts were sentenced to death for the kidnapping and killing of Chief Abbot Ogbobula in June 2017.
Four suspects were charged for the kidnapping and killing but the court discharged and acquitted one of them.
The three convicts are Boma Thompson, Emelike Mathias, and Daniel Thankgod.
They were found guilty of a four-count bordering conspiracy to kidnap, kidnapping, conspiracy to murder, and murder.
On conspiracy to kidnap, Justice Monina Danagogo in a copy of the judgment he delivered on Thursday, convicted and sentenced the first, second and fourth defendants to seven years imprisonment without an option of fine.
On the kidnapping, the judge convicted and sentenced the first, second and fourth defendants to death by hanging.
On conspiracy to murder Late Chief Abbot Ogbobula, he sentenced them to 14 years imprisonment with no option of fine.
On the murder, they were convicted and sentenced to death by hanging or by lethal injection.
In June 2017, the late Ogbobula was kidnapped in Ahoada, Rivers State and moved to Manikin Bush in Degema LGA of the state where he later died at the hands of his captors.
Though his abductors buried him in a shallow grave in the bush, his body was later exhumed by the police during investigations.
