After kidnappers killed an 83-year-old man and his driver despite ransom payment, court sentences POS operator to death by hanging

A family that paid millions of naira to secure the release of an elderly man and his driver was left with an agonising outcome after kidnappers reportedly killed both men despite receiving part of the ransom.

Nearly three years after the abduction, an Imo State High Court sitting in Urualla, within the Orlu Judicial Division, has sentenced 28-year-old point-of-sale (POS) operator Isaac Okorie to death by hanging for his role in the crime.

Justice Matthew Ijezie delivered the judgment on Tuesday, October 20, 2026, after finding Okorie guilty on six counts involving armed robbery, hostage-taking and murder. The judge held that the prosecution had proved its case beyond reasonable doubt through the evidence presented in court.

The case dates back to October 14, 2023, when Chief Alexander Chukwuma Okoli, an 83-year-old man, and his driver, Daniel Sarki, were abducted at Isiekenesi in Ideato South Local Government Area of Imo State.

According to the court’s account, Okorie conspired with other armed gang members to seize the two men and take them into a bush. The gang also stole Okoli’s gold-coloured Toyota Corolla, with registration number AAH 989 RM.

The kidnappers subsequently demanded ₦100 million from the victims’ family for their release.

The family eventually paid ₦2.515 million, but the payment did not lead to the men’s safe return. The gang killed both victims and sent photographs of their lifeless bodies to the family, according to the court’s account.

During the trial, the court heard that Okorie’s role in the gang’s operations was to receive ransom payments from the families of kidnapping victims. His involvement in the operation formed part of the evidence considered by the court.

After finding him guilty on all six counts, the court gave Okorie an opportunity to plead for leniency before sentencing, a process known as ‘allocutus’.

Okorie pleaded for mercy, but Justice Ijezie sentenced him to death by hanging. Speaking after the judgment, Ikenna Obi, a senior state counsel with the Imo State Ministry of Justice who prosecuted the case, described the ruling as significant.

Obi said the judgment would offer some measure of relief to the victims’ family, even though the bodies had not been found. He also expressed hope that the conviction would deter people involved in kidnapping and armed robbery and discourage others from joining criminal gangs.

He commended the judge for delivering what he described as a well-considered judgment in accordance with the law.

Amanda, the daughter of one of the victims, also expressed relief that the defendant had been punished. However, she said the family remained distressed by the failure to recover her father’s body and that of his driver.

She added that the judgment offered some comfort and expressed hope that other suspects still at large would be arrested and brought to justice.

The sentence marks a major development in the case, but the family is still waiting for the recovery of the two men’s remains and for other suspects to face justice.