The Ekiti State High Court, sitting in Ado Ekiti, has sentenced two men to death by hanging for committing armed robbery.
In the judgement delivered on Tuesday, Justice Olalekan Olatawura also handed down a seven-year prison term each to the convicts — 37-year-old Kehinde Adejuwon and 35-year-old ex-convict, Dayo Adeniyi — for conspiracy.
The duo were found guilty of terrorising residents of Ado Ekiti, carting away valuables such as cash, vehicles, electronics, and food items during separate robbery operations.
They were arraigned on February 14, 2023, on a five-count charge bordering on conspiracy, armed robbery, and stealing.
According to the charge, the offences were committed on January 4, 2022, and January 1, 2023, when Adejuwon and Adeniyi, while armed with a gun and a cutlass, robbed one Adeowo Aderonke of N100,000 and a UBA ATM card.
It further stated that the defendants also “robbed one Ojo Adeniyi of his Toyota Highlander Jeep, one bag of rice, five tubers of yam and N156,000,” and “they robbed one Emmanuel Adebajo Gbenga of his Toyota Camry car, laptop computer, six phones and N60,000.”
The charge noted that the offences violated Sections 302(4)(a), 312(2)(a), and 421 of the Criminal Law of Ekiti State, 2021.
Testifying in court, one of the victims, Emmanuel Adebajo, narrated how the robbers attacked his family.
He said, “My wife and our three children were coming from church around 2am on New Year’s Day, when we got to the gate of our house and were about to enter, I suddenly saw three persons emanate from nowhere and armed with guns and cutlasses.
“We were ordered to come down from the car, they snatched the car from me at gunpoint, alongside my laptop, six different phones, a bunch of keys, and a sum of N60,000, all valued at N376,000.”
The witness told the court that he immediately reported the incident to the police, adding, “I later contacted the engineer, who installed a tracker in the car. After a frantic effort, the car was tracked to Offa, Kwara State, alongside the defendants.
“They were first transferred to Ilorin in the Kwara State Police Command. The policemen contacted the Ekiti State Command and later brought them to Ado Ekiti. The car was released to me.”
Prosecution counsel Olasanmi Oluwaseun called three witnesses and tendered several exhibits, while the defence, led by Lawrence Fasanmi, called none.
In delivering judgment, Justice Olatawura noted the defendants’ lack of remorse, especially Adeniyi, who had a prior conviction.
He said, “I note that in the 2nd defendant’s confessional statement, he described himself as an ex-convict. One would have thought that after his experience in prison, he ought to have reformed himself; instead, he stepped up his criminal acts and graduated from being a phone thief to an armed robber.
“I have given consideration to the plea of the defendants for mercy. Unfortunately, the punishment for the offence of armed robbery is mandatory; I therefore have no discretion to exercise on that.
“Consequently, on Count One (conspiracy), the defendants are sentenced to seven years imprisonment each, while on Count Two (armed robbery), the sentence of this court is that you be hanged by the neck until you are dead. May God have mercy on your soul,” the judge pronounced.
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