By Favour Kingsley
The registrar of the High Court of Justice, Ozoro Judicial Division, Mr. Reuben Ighovojah, has last Monday expressed concern over the alarming surge in violent crimes across Delta state, manifesting in the increase in filings of murder and kidnapping related cases before the division in the current legal year.
Speaking in an exclusive interview at the court premises in Ozoro, Isoko North Local Government Area, Mr. Ighovojah revealed how the court registry has been overwhelmed by a disturbing influx of high-profile capital cases filed by police prosecutors, even as formal courtroom proceedings remain on hold due to the ongoing annual judges’ vacation.
The Registrar attributed the spike in docket entries directly to a rising wave of violent crimes in the region, citing a high-profile case of The State vs. Godwin Oghenechuko Iboyirode & 2 Others with (Charge No: HCZ/10C/2025).
The prosecution alleges that the principal defendant in the case mentioned, a hotel manager, conspired with two brothers, Monday and Endurance Erileh, reportedly ambushed, kidnapped , and murdered a 55-year-old clergyman, Pastor Sunday Ogofotha, inside a hotel room along the Ozoro-Owhelogbo Road.
Mr. Ighovojah noted that while formal charges involving conspiracy, kidnapping, and murder have been duly processed and substantive trial proceedings remain temporarily paused until the bench officially resumes from recess.
“The rise in capital offenses brought to our registry this year is truly troubling,”
According Ighovojah “Even with the court presently on vacation, our administrative arm remains fully active processing new charges.”
He further assured the public that case files are being actively organized behind the scenes so that trials can proceed without delay immediately after the annual recess ends.
Speaking further, he noted that as criminal dockets continue to expand, legal practitioners and local residents eagerly await the official resumption of sitting, hoping that swift judicial proceedings will bring justice to victims’ families and deter the escalating wave of violent crime in Delta State.
