The Ekiti State High Court sitting in Ado Ekiti has sentenced four men to life imprisonment for offences bordering on kidnapping a 75-year-old woman in Ikere Ekiti.
Other defendants in the suit named Adeoye Sunday, Adewusi Dare, Bamigboye Damilola and Ogunlayi Seun, were also on Monday given a five-year imprisonment sentence each for an offence of conspiracy.
Ojo Tope, who was the fifth defendant in the suit, was acquitted and let go of the charges levelled against them.
The accused individuals were tried by the judge for an offence of kidnapping, which happened on the 14th of September 2017. The victim was named Madam Florence Popoola, 75 years old, it was explained that the defendants had kidnapped the victim from her residence in Ikere Ekiti and kept her in the forest between Eyio and Awo-Ekiti for four days, she was released after the ransom of N1.5m was paid to the defendants.
The defendants were tried for the kidnap on September 14, 2017, of 75-year-old Madam Florence Popoola from her house in Ikere Ekiti. They kept her in the forest between Eyio and Awo-Ekiti for four days until she was eventually released after the payment of N1.5m ransom.
After their eventual arrest, the suspects were charged with offences bordering on conspiracy to armed robbery, armed robbery, kidnapping and conspiracy to kidnap.
Speaking in the court, the Director of Public Prosecutions, Julius Ajibare, who spoke on behalf of the state government, explained that the offences committed by the defendants contravened Section 6(b) &1(2) (a)of the Robbery and Firearms (Special Provisions) Act, Cap.R11, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004 and Sections 3 & 4 of the Ekiti State Kidnap and Terrorism (Prohibition) Law,2015
The director of public prosecution in the state presented four different witnesses.
The counsel to the defendants, Chris Omokhafe and Sunday Ochai, who spoke on their behalf, presented different evidence for their defence but did not call any witnesses.
Delivering judgment, Ogunmoye convicted four of the defendants with different series of punishments.
The judge sentenced one of the defendants to life imprisonment while three others were given five years imprisonment for conspiracy to kidnap, but acquitted and discharged them for the offences of conspiracy to commit armed robbery and armed robbery
One defendant, Ojo Tope, was let go from all the charges levied against her.
