A high court sitting in Ado-Ekiti on Thursday sentenced one Owoeye Ojo, 51, to death by hanging for attempted murder and armed robbery.

Ojo was arraigned before the court on August 25, 2023, on a four-count charge of attempted murder and armed robbery.

The charge read that the defendants on May 21, 2023, at Oluwole Orungbe Street in Ado Ekiti armed with guns, axes and cutlasses robbed and attempted to murder one Funmilayo Adeyemi and Omolola Adesola.

According to the charge, the defendant and others at large robbed Adeyemi of her handbag containing money and handset valued at N85, 000.

Also, on May 12, 2023, at Ilokun in Ado Ekiti, the defendant and others at large robbed Adesola of her laptop, phones, flash drives and cash sum of N10, 000.

The offences contravened sections 314, 312(2) (b), 241 and 312 (a) of the criminal Laws of Ekiti State, 2021.

In her testimony before the court, one of the victims, Adesola Omolola said, “I was in my house around 8:00 p.m., I was about to go to bed but one of my sons was outside. I was trying to lock the door from behind and realised that there was a push from outside. I opened the door to know why the door was not closed; I saw the defendant and others holding guns, cutlasses, and axes. I was ordered to lay face down; they ordered my eldest son to lead them inside the room where they carted away my valuables and cash sum worth N710, 000. After they left, I reported the matter at Oke Ila Police Station. A week later, I heard some armed robbers had been arrested in the neighbourhood. When I visited them at the Rapid Response Squad of the Nigeria Police Force office, I saw and identified the defendant as one of the robbers who robbed my house.”

To prove her case, the prosecutor Florence Ajumobi called four witnesses and tendered one single barrel gun, live cartridges, statement of the defendant, and pictures of the victims among others as exhibits while the defendant counsel, Lawrence Fasanmi, called no witness.

Delivering his judgment, Justice Lekan Ogunmoye said, “With the believable evidence before the court, the prosecution has established that there was robbery on the premises of the victims. The defendant was one of those who took part in the armed robbery and there was an agreement between him and others. The prosecution had therefore proved beyond reasonable doubt that the defendant committed the offences as charged. Consequently, the defendant is hereby sentenced to death by hanging, may God have mercy upon his soul.’’

(NAN)