Four men found guilty of armed robbery by an Ekiti State High Court were sentenced to death.
Convicted of conspiracy and armed robbery, Segun Friday (39), Tijani Semiu Seun (27), Ogunyemi Segun Olarewaju (29) and Adebayo Tope (23) were arraigned before Justice Adekunle Adeleye on July 17, 2020.
The defendants are accused of plotting, on December 24, 2018, in Irare Village, Erinmope, Moba Local Government Area, Ekiti State, to rob one Adeleke Abiodun of his Bajaj motorcycle while carrying weapons.
According to the Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004, Section 1(2) (a) of the Robbery and Firearms (Special Provisions) Act, Cap. RII, and Section 6(b) of the Robbery and Firearms (Special Provisions) Act, Vol. 14, are violated by the offenses.
The victim stated in his court statement, “I ride commercial motorcycles in Otun and Erinmope, Ekiti. I took a lady from Otun to Erinmope Ekiti on that tragic day. A man stopped me while I was returning to Otun, and we worked out a deal to take him to Irare village. When I realized I was headed inside a forest, I refused to continue.
A biker who was pushing his bike in our direction interrupted the quarrel and claimed to have transported the man from Ado Ekiti before running out of petrol. He gave me his word that I would be secure, and I subsequently agreed. During our trip, he made multiple phone calls.
We passed a man and another ahead of us, and before I knew it, the man behind me attempted to choke me as I was riding the motorcycle. The person in front of me joined the one I avoided, and they took the motorcycle away from me as we were dragging it when we fell.
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“I witnessed a man and his spouse leaving their farm on a motorcycle. I told them what had happened, and they alerted the villagers. They searched the area and one of them was taken into custody.”After then, he was turned up to law enforcement. Later, after he led the police to the Atikankan neighborhood of Ado Ekiti, more gang members were taken into custody, but the motorcycle remained unaccounted for until today.
The prosecution, led by Julius Ajibare, called three witnesses and presented the defendants’ comments as exhibits to support his case. The defendants communicated through Adeyinka Opaleke, their attorney.
“There is evidence of a direct plot between the conspirators,” Judge Adekunle Adeleye declared in rendering his decision. The robbery task that was agreed upon was accomplished by the first, second, third, and fourth accused.
The complainant has proven, beyond a reasonable doubt, that the defendants had the intention of displacing the owner of a motorcycle based on the evidence that was presented to the court.
The defendants’ actions to carry out the agreed-upon illegal act of getting rid of his Bajaj motorcycle are also conclusively proven. The charges against the four defendants, counts one (conspiracy) and two (armed robbery), are judged to be true.
The judge then gave the guilty men the death penalty.
