A High Court in Port Harcourt, Nigeria has sentenced a level 200 student of Physics department, University of Port Harcourt, Ifeanyi Dike and his cousin, Ugochukwu Nwamiro, to death by hanging over murder.

One is to be hanged on his neck until he dies while the other is to be hanged on the leg till his death for defiling and killing an eight-year-old girl, Victory Chikamso Nmezuwuba.

Mr Dike, who was 23 years old when the incident happened in 2017, was apprehended with a sack containing the little girl’s remains following a tip-off.

He was later handed over to the police for further investigations and prosecution. Mr Dike reportedly removed the victim’s eyes, vagina, finger and tongue, after defiling and murdering her with the assistance of his cousin.

Few days after he was handed over to the police, he escaped from the premises of the State Criminal Investigations Department with the aid of the police personnel on duty, Sgt Johnbosco Okoronze, who failed to handcuff him after he had finished writing his statement.

Few weeks later, he was rearrested in Jos, Plateau state and taken back to Port Harcourt for trial. The judge also sentenced Sergeant Okoronze to one-year imprisonment for aiding the escape of Mr Dike.