Court Sentences Two To Death By Hanging In Ekiti

An Ado-Ekiti High Court on Tuesday sentenced two persons, Makinde Kola (41), and Haruna Bika (30), to death by hanging.

The convicts were arraigned before Justice Olalekan Olatawura on February 28, 2022, on a six-count charge bordering on conspiracy, armed robbery, rape and kidnapping.

Delivering judgment, Justice Olatawura found the convicts guilty on five counts and sentenced them accordingly to imprisonment, life sentence and death, all to run concurrently.

The Prosecution Counsel, Olasanmi Oluwaseun, had said that the defendants, on October 6, 2021, at Idi Mango Camp, Ilasa-Ekiti, within the jurisdiction of the court did rob Taiwo Oni and Mohammed Ayomide of their phones.

She added that the convicts robbed Adejuwon Gbenga of N31,000.

She said that on the same day, date and place, the convicts kidnapped one Adejuwon Daramola and also raped a 19-year-old mother of a five-month-old baby during their operation, armed with cutlass and gun.

The prosecutor said that the offences are contrary to Sections 516, and 401 (2) of the Criminal Code Law, Cap. C16, Laws of Ekiti State, 2012.

She said the offences also contravened Section 2 (2) of the Ekiti State Gender Based Violence (Prohibition) Law, 2019 and Section 3 (a) of the Kidnap and Terrorism (Prohibition) Laws of Ekiti State, 2015.

In his statement to the police, one of the victims had said, “I was sleeping around 1:00 a.m. I heard a very loud bang at my door.

“When I woke up, I saw somebody pointing a gun at me from the window, he ordered me to open the door and I did.

“When they entered, my wife and I were beaten with a cutlass. They searched everywhere in our room and took away a sum of N31,000 which I collected from a business centre in the afternoon.

“Thereafter, they took my daughter outside and wanted to rape her but she resisted them and was shouting; she was ordered to sit with those already captured outside.

“In the process, another victim, Adejuwon Daramola was kidnapped by them and they later demanded for N5 million ransom,” he said.

Another victim, a 19-year-old mother of a five-month-old baby, said, “I heard one of my neighbours shouting, thief, thief; I was afraid; I carried my baby; before I could take any step, they entered our house.

“They asked of my neighbour, I told them I did not see him. They collected the baby from me, and had carnal knowledge of me,” she said.

The convicts were later arrested by the vigilantes in the community; they were recognised and identified by their faces and cap left at one of the crime scenes.

To prove her case, Oluwaseun called seven witnesses and tendered the convicts' statements and cap as exhibits.