Gracious David West, the serial killer who terrorised Rivers State some months ago, on Tuesday pleaded guilty to killing nine young women in different hotels.
He was formally arraigned before Justice Adolphus Enebeli of the Rivers State High Court where he pleaded guilty to nine out of 10 charges preferred against him by the police.
Recall that West who was arrested in September had during his parade confessed to killing seven young women; one in Lagos, one in Owerri, Imo State, and five in Rivers State.
However, on Tuesday, he upped the number, admitting to killing nine people when the charges were read to him.
For the charge of attempting to kill his 10th victim on September 18, 2019, he pleaded not guilty saying he never intended to kill her, but only tied her to a chair and left her in the hotel room.
Fielding questions from journalists outside the courtroom, the prosecuting counsel, Gladys Imegwu, said the State Ministry of Justice was taking over the case and the Police was not opposed to it as it was in the best interest of the state.
“The court ruled on the application of the lawyer from the Ministry of Justice through the office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, who made an application to take over the case.
It is their constitutional right and the court granted the application; we are not opposed to it.
“It is for the betterment of the state and we are working together. At the same time, we made it clear that we have prosecutorial power; even the Criminal Justice Law gives us that power,” she said.
The Principal State Counsel from the DPP office, Chidi Ekeh, on his own part said the move to take over the prosecution was to ensure that justice was served.
“We consider this case a very sensitive one, because of the fact that most of the nine victims were killed in Rivers State; so, we want to send a message to Rivers residents that lives are valued and that such an offence cannot be toyed with.
“We will prosecute this matter to its logical conclusion and ensure that justice prevails at the end of the day.”
The defendant’s counsel, Mr. Vincent Chukwu, stressed that his client’s guilty plea was not enough to convict him of the crime.
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He said his client had a cogent defense which would be presented at the appropriate time even as he insisted that, the onus of proof lay with the prosecution as the offence was a capital offence with a death sentence.
“The offence in question is a capital offence; whether my client did it or not, the presumption is that the prosecution must still prove its case beyond reasonable doubt. So, it is not for the defendant to just say I am guilty and liable and it ends there.
“Because the punishment is death, the burden is now on the prosecution to go ahead and prove its case and we are waiting for it.
“My client has a very plausible defence, which we shall open at the appropriate time. We had fruitful deliberations with him on Monday and we hope for the best in the matter,” Chukwu said.
Hearing continues on November 18.
Meanwhile, the court ordered that West be remanded in a correctional centre.
