Ekiti Court Sentence Four To Die By Hanging For Robbery, Conspiracy

Four people, Ojo Ajayi, 22, Matthew Osalade, 23, Adebisi Ogundare, 23, and Busayo Adeniyi, 23, were sentenced to death by hanging by an Ado-Ekiti High Court on Monday for armed robbery and other offenses.

On August 24, 2020, the defendants were charged with seven counts that included conspiracy, armed robbery, attempted murder, and cultism before Justice Bamidele Omotoso.

The violations included sections 4(1) of the Secret Cults (Abolition and Prohibition) First Amendment Law, No. 6, 2017, as well as sections 516, 402(2), and 320 of the Criminal Code Cap. C16, Laws of Ekiti State, Nigeria (2012).

According to the accusation, the defendants planned to commit an armed robbery against Mary Ezeaku, Joshua Ige, and Hassan Abdulmalik on January 1, 2019, in the Odo-Ado neighborhood of Ado Ekiti.

In addition to their attempted murder of Olajide Babatunde, they were discovered to be members of the forbidden Eieye Confraternity.

Armed with knives, axes, and other deadly weapons, they robbed the victims of their possessions, including phones, necklaces, watches, and N30,500 in cash, among other things.

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One of the victims, Joshua Ige who testified before the court said, “we were coming from a show in Ekute Quarters of Ado Ekiti around 4:00 am, we boarded a bike to take us to Odo-Ado when we are approaching Odo Ado area,  he suddenly stopped at a lonely place, before we asked what happened, other boys came out of their hidings, they pointed gun at us, some of them held axe and knives, they robbed us of our phones, necklace, wristwatch and other valuables.

Prior to their later arrest, the incident was reported to the police station.

Albert Adeyemi, the prosecution, brought six witnesses, presented the defendants’ testimony, one locally made pistol, one round of live ammo, two axes, two cutlasses, twelve handset, among other things, as exhibits to support his case.

The defendants used Adeyinka Opaleke, the Ekiti State Coordinator of the Legal Aid Council, as their counsel to speak on their behalf; they did not summon any witnesses.

In his judgment, Justice Bamidele Omotoso said, ‘’I resolve the sole issue for determination  in this case partially in favour of the prosecutor and against the defendants, they were found guilty of the offences of conspiracy, armed robbery and attempted murder’’

He said the punishment for armed robbery is death, for the offence of armed robbery, the sentence of this court upon the defendants is that they are hanged by the neck until they are dead.

“May God have mercy on your souls, they were sentenced to life imprisonment for attempted murder and seven years imprisonment each for the offence of conspiracy, the judge ruled.