An Ekiti State High Court sitting in Ado Ekiti on Monday, sentenced two men, Onileowo Rotimi and Adetola Ayodele, to death by hanging for armed robbery and kidnapping.
The court also handed them a sentence of life imprisonment for conspiracy.
Justice Bamidele Omotoso delivered the judgment after finding the defendants guilty on three counts of conspiracy, armed robbery, and kidnapping.
The charges stemmed from an incident on October 7, 2016, in Abuta Omuo Ekiti, where the convicts robbed and abducted a woman, Mrs. Ajibola Oyelola.
According to the prosecution, the defendants, alongside three others still at large, invaded the victim’s home at gunpoint while she was cooking.
They demanded her husband, claiming he had offended their boss, and when they could not find him, they stole N78,000 and her car key.
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Mrs. Oyelola, in her testimony, recounted being blindfolded, tied, and driven to an unknown location where she was held for eight days.
The kidnappers initially demanded a N40 million ransom but later settled for N600,000 before releasing her.
The prosecution, led by Akinola Abon, presented four witnesses and tendered the defendants’ statements as evidence.
The convicts, who admitted to meeting in prison before committing the crime, did not call any witnesses in their defense.
Justice Omotoso ruled that the prosecution had successfully proven the charges beyond a reasonable doubt.
“For kidnapping, the defendants are hereby sentenced to life imprisonment, and for armed robbery, they are to be hanged by the neck until they are dead. May God have mercy on your souls,” the judge declared.
The offenses violate Sections 516, 402, and 403 (A) of the Ekiti State Criminal Code , as well as the state’s Kidnapping and Terrorism (Prohibition) Law of 2015.
