An Ekiti State High Court, Ado Ekiti Division, has sentenced four men to death by hanging over the murder of a traditional chief.

The court also sentenced each of the four men to seven years’ imprisonment for conspiracy and life imprisonment for attempt to murder a woman.

The convicts, Sunday Aernana (30); Jonathan Elijah (19); Sule Obasanjo (30); and Moses Iorna (24), were arraigned on three counts of conspiracy, murder and attempt to murder.

The charges read in part, “The defendants on April 5, 2020, at Iyemero Ekiti, in the Ikole Local Government Area of Ekiti State, did conspire to murder Chief Sola Fatunla and also attempted to murder one Adebo Tadeni.”

The prosecutor, Julius Ajibare, said the offences contravened sections 516, 316 and 320 of the Criminal Code Cap. C16, Laws of Ekiti State of Nigeria, 2012.

In her testimony before the court, Adebo Tadeni, who said she was married to one of the defendants and had children with him, said, “I left him due to frequent misunderstanding between us but he later came to apologise and promised to be a changed person.

“He alleged me of having affairs with Chief Sola Fatunla; he threatened to kill both of us if he ever saw us together again. The matter was reported at the police station. He was arrested but begged for forgiveness; he wrote an undertaking to be a good boy to the chief.

“On the fateful day, he lured me and the deceased to a farm at Iyemero Ekiti, pretending to help him settle a rift between him and one Ebira man. On getting to the farm, we met the other defendants drinking gin; they seized my phone and Chief Fatunla’s phones.

“He ordered them to start beating us with cutlasses; they later tied chief to a tree. I was also tied to a tree at a nearby location, but I could see them. One of them broke the gin bottle on chief’s forehead and he became unconscious. He poured petrol on his body and set him ablaze.

“I escaped from where I was tied and ran away. I went to report the matter at a police station. Thereafter, the defendants were arrested in Kwara State while trying to escape.”

The prosecutor, Ajibare, called six witnesses and tendered the defendants’ statements, photographs of the deceased burnt body, a medical report, among others, as exhibits.

The defendants, who spoke in their own defence through their counsel, called no witness.

In the court judgment, Justice Adekunle Adeleye, who said the prosecution established through evidence the intention of the four defendants to commit the murder and attempted murder, said, “This is contrary to sections 516, 316 and 320 of the Criminal Code Cap. C16, Laws of Ekiti State, 2012.”

“Each of the first, second, third and fourth defendants are hereby sentenced to seven years’ imprisonment each on count one (conspiracy), death by hanging on count two (murder) and life imprisonment on count three (attempt to murder),” the judge added. (The PUNCH)

*PLS USE THE HANGMAN’s NOOSE

Policemen refund N50,000 stolen from Lagos motorist

A young man identified as Oluwatosin has taken recounted how some rogue policemen attached to Abattoir Division in Agege, Lagos, assaulted and robbed him of over N50,000 for asking why they wanted to see his mobile phone.

Oluwatosin said the action of the policemen was the greatest height of shamelessness.

According to him, the policemen, who were in plainclothes and armed, stopped him around 1pm on Sunday while he was heading to Abule Egba for his daily business.

He said they were in front of the Abattoir Police Station when they stopped him and that they searched his car but found nothing incriminating.

“Then they insisted they wanted my particulars which I showed them. Then they forcefully wanted to collect my phone, I refused and insisted that I won’t let them have it, that I know the law and it says no policeman should ask for any citizen’s phone only in rare cases and that’s after several investigations had been done.

“Then, they slapped me repeatedly and kicked me after explaining the law to them, and punched me on my face. One threatened to shoot me if I didn’t let go of my phone.

Afterwards, they forcefully collected my key from me and one of them drove the car into the station.

“Two other policemen dragged me on the floor into the station. Then, the one that drove the car opened my dashboard locker and collected N50,000 cash I had in my car with some other additional money which was up to N5,400 in the car.

“Then the two policemen that were forcefully dragging me into the station asked me to open my bank app, and while being dragged and rough handled in the station, he then started writing statements for me. They refused to allow me to write my own statement.

“He then started beating me up again and took off my clothes and asked me to carry a placard in making a video of me saying that I’m a criminal, that they should lock me up.

“Then he asked to bring N200,000 to bail myself. I told him that I don’t have such money on me. He didn’t believe me, that was when they started beating me, in which I opened my bank app for them. So when they saw that I had only N7,000 in my account.”

“They returned my car key and my clothes and ordered me to leave the station and not say a word to anyone else.

Oluwatosin’s ordeal generated public condemnation with the spokesman for the Lagos Police Command, SP Benjamin Hundeyin promising to get to the root of the issue.

Hours later, Oluwatosin confirmed that his stolen N50,000 has been refunded. He thanked Hundeyin and others who ensured justice was done in the matter (The Nation)

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