The Ekiti State High Court sitting in Ado-Ekiti has sentenced two men, Ibrahim Abubakar and Abdullahi Abubakar, to death by hanging over the kidnapping of an official of the National Youth Service Corps, Omoboade Adesina.
The judgment was delivered by the Chief Judge of Ekiti State, Justice Lekan Ogunmoye, in Suit No. HAD/124C/2022 before High Court I, Fajuyi, Ado-Ekiti.
The convicts were arraigned alongside a third defendant, Usman Abubakar, after their arrest by operatives of the Department of State Services in connection with the April 22, 2022 incident.
The defendants had faced charges bordering on conspiracy, murder and kidnapping arising from the violent attack in which Adesina was abducted after her husband, Taiwo Adesina, was allegedly shot dead on his farm.
During trial, the court heard that armed men attacked the family, killed the husband and thereafter abducted Mrs. Adesina from her residence.
The victim was said to have been blindfolded and taken away on a motorcycle to an undisclosed location, where she was held captive.
Her abductors reportedly seized her phone and used it to contact her relatives, initially demanding N10 million ransom. The family was said to have later paid N3.25 million before she was released.
Delivering judgment, Justice Ogunmoye held that the prosecution proved its case beyond reasonable doubt against Ibrahim Abubakar and Abdullahi Abubakar.
The court relied on evidence including an identification parade conducted during investigation and analysis of call data records, which linked the two convicts to the crime.
Justice Ogunmoye subsequently convicted Ibrahim and Abdullahi and sentenced them to death by hanging.
However, the court discharged and acquitted the third defendant, Usman Abubakar, after holding that the prosecution failed to establish his involvement in the kidnapping.
The judge held that there was insufficient evidence connecting Usman to either the planning or execution of the offence.
The judgment brings to a close the trial arising from the 2022 abduction, which had drawn attention because of the killing of the victim’s husband, the ransom demand and the involvement of security operatives in the investigation.
The conviction also underscored the court’s reliance on intelligence-led investigation, including call data analysis and identification evidence, in establishing the guilt of the two convicts.
