A 22-year-old man, Moses Okoh, has appeared before a Plateau State High Court for the alleged killing of his 20-year-old girlfriend, Jennifer Anthony.
Okoh, an undergraduate student of the University of Jos, was said to have committed the offence on Dec. 31, 2021, when he killed late Anthony and removed her eyes and other parts of her body which led to suspicions of ritual killing.
The police prosecutor, Insp. Alex Muleng, told the court that the accused lured his girlfriend to meet him in Jos to cross over into the new year but had sinister intentions of killing her.
Muleng said he took away her phone from her while they were together and destroyed it to stop her from calling for help.
She added that Okoh used a fork to gorge the deceased eyes and also used his feet to smash her head against the floor which led to her death.
The prosecutor added that the accused fled the scene of the crime and was arrested on Jan. 15, by the police in Benue state where he was hiding.
The accused, after the charge was read to him remained mute and acted insanely.
Earlier, Counsel to the accused, N.E Jesse, had told the court that his client was suffering from insanity, as such, could not speak.
Jesse said Okoh had been suffering ‘unnecessary visitation’ by some spirits and his mental status has been fluctuating.
He said receiving the magnitude of the alleged offence had also tampered with his mental state.
The prosecutor, while objecting to the claim of insanity stated that the issue of his insanity was refutable.
Muleng said a medical certificate of sanity was before the court which proved the accused to be of a sound mind adding that there was no contrary documentary evidence before the court to prove insanity.
She added that the accused had been talking to the police, his family, and his lawyer just before proceedings describing his actions as ‘mere acting a drama’ before the court.
The judge, Justice S.P Gang, in his ruling, entered a plea of not guilty on the accused and adjourned the matter to March 3 and 4 for hearing and taking of witnesses.