NIGERIA: FOUR SENTENCED TO DEATH OVER MOTORCYCLE THEFT IN EKITI

December 10, 2023:

Four persons, Segun Friday, Tijani Semiu Seun, Ogunyemi Segun Olarewaju, and Adebayo Tope, found guilty of stealing a motorcycle have been sentenced to death by the Ekiti State High Court, sitting in Ado-Ekiti, Tori.ng reported on Devember 7, 2023.
The defendants were found guilty of conspiring to commit a felony and robbing Adeleke Abiodun of his Bajaj motorcycle while bearing firearms.
The incident occurred on December 24, 2018, at Irare Village, Erinmope, in Moba Local Government Area of Ekiti State, according to the charge.
The convicts were charged under Section 6(b) of the Robbery and Firearms (Special Provisions) Act, Cap. RII, Vol. 14, and Section 1(2) (a) of the Robbery and Firearms (Special Provisions) Act, Cap. RII, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004.
To prove his case, the prosecutor, Julius Ajibare, called three witnesses and tendered the defendants’ statements as exhibits, while the defendants spoke through their counsel, Adeyinka Opaleke.
Delivering his judgment, Justice Adekunle Adeleye said, “There is evidence of a direct plot between the conspirators. The 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th defendants indeed took steps to achieve the agreed task of robbery.
"From the evidence placed before the court by the complainant, he has established beyond a reasonable doubt the meeting of minds of the defendants to dispossess the owner of a motorcycle.
“It is also established without doubt that the defendants took steps in achieving the agreed unlawful act of dispossessing his Bajaj motorcycle. The four defendants are found guilty in count one (conspiracy) and count two (armed robbery) as charged.”
The judge subsequently sentenced the convicts to death.