Four persons have been sentenced to death by a high court sitted in Ado Ekiti, Ekiti State for armed robbery and other offences.
According to Daily Post, the victims are Ojo Ajayi, 22, Matthew Osalade, 23, Adebisi Ogundare,23, and Busayo Adeniyi, 23.
The defendants were charged with seven counts, including conspiracy, armed robbery, attempted murder, and cultism, before Justice Bamidele Omotoso on August 24, 2020.
According to the accusation sheet, the group planned to commit an armed robbery against Mary Ezeaku, Joshua Ige, and Hassan Abdulmalik on January 1, 2019, in the Odo-Ado Area of Ado Ekiti. Additionally, they made an attempt at killing Olajide Babatunde.
It was also discovered that they belonged to the forbidden secret society Eiye Confraternity.
They robbed the victims of their belongings, including phones, necklaces, wristwatches, and N30,500 cash, while armed with offensive weapons such as guns, axes, and knives.
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 Odo-Ado. When we were approaching Odo Ado area, he suddenly stopped at a lonely place, before we could ask what happened, other boys came out of their hidings, they pointed a gun at us, some of them held axe and knives and they robbed us of our phones, necklace, wristwatch and other valuables.”
After the incident was reported to the police station, the criminals were apprehended.
The prosecutor,Albert Adeyemi called six witnesses and presented defendants’ statements, as well as one locally-made pistol, one live ammunition, two axes, two cutlasses, and twelve handsets as exhibits.
Adeyinka Opaleke, the Ekiti State Coordinator of the Legal Aid Council, who represented the defendants, called no witnesses during their remarks.
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. “And 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,” the judge pronounced.
The judge also gave them a life sentence for attempted murder and a seven-year sentence for conspiracy, respectively.
