An Ekiti State High Court in Ado-Ekiti has sentenced four men to death by hanging after finding them guilty of kidnapping and murdering a resident of the state. The judgment followed a criminal trial in which the court also convicted the defendants of conspiracy.
The convicted men are Jimoh Dele (57), Ige Adu (56), Ogunremi Bunmi (53), and Ayeni Blessing (32). They were arraigned before Justice Olalekan Olatawura on September 1, 2022, on charges of conspiracy, kidnapping, murder, and illegal possession of firearms.
According to the prosecution, the four men conspired on May 5, 2022, to abduct Chief Emmanuel Ajayi from his residence in the Immigration Office area of Ado-Ekiti. The court heard that the victim was later murdered following the abduction.
The prosecution also told the court that the defendants were arrested with four locally fabricated cut-to-size single-barrel guns and 13 rounds of live ammunition.
Testifying before the court, Police Sergeant Oladele Ayodeji stated that law enforcement officers received a report of the victim’s kidnapping by armed men. Investigations revealed that Chief Ajayi was later discovered along the roadside after allegedly falling from the boot of the kidnappers’ vehicle during their escape.
The police witness explained that the victim was initially rushed to a nearby hospital before being transferred to ABUAD Multisystem Hospital, where he later died from injuries sustained during the incident.
During the trial, the prosecution presented two witnesses and tendered several exhibits, including the defendants’ confessional statements, four locally made firearms, a video recording, and a medical report from ABUAD Multisystem Hospital.
In delivering the judgment, Justice Olatawura held that the evidence presented by the prosecution proved the case beyond reasonable doubt. The judge noted that the confessional statements of the first, second, and third defendants indicated their involvement in repeated criminal activities, including kidnapping, armed robbery, and housebreaking. He further observed that the third defendant, Ogunremi Bunmi, was an ex-convict.
The court sentenced all four defendants to 21 years’ imprisonment for conspiracy. On the charge of illegal possession of firearms, Jimoh Dele received an additional 10-year prison sentence and a ₦20,000 fine, while the remaining three defendants were discharged and acquitted on that specific count.
For the offences of kidnapping and murder, Justice Olatawura sentenced all four convicts to death by hanging. The court ordered that the various prison terms run concurrently.
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