An Ekiti State High Court sitting in Ado-Ekiti has sentenced three persons to a total of 97 years’ imprisonment for offences bordering on conspiracy, kidnapping and unlawful possession of firearms.
The convicts — Augustine Agbogbo (58), Adeniyi Olamilekan, also known as Loko (39), and Ademoh Gabriel (39) — were arraigned alongside three others before Justice Adeniyi Familoni on Aug. 11, 2023, on a six-count charge.
The other defendants — Ogungbemi Gbenga, alias Baba Ara (56), Monday Rakiya (58), and Oseni Mutairu (25) — were, however, discharged and acquitted for lack of evidence.
The prosecution had alleged that the defendants, on June 6, 2022, at Ayede-Ekiti, conspired to rob one Ajibade Adeleke of N15,000, and on Dec. 20, 2022, at Itapaji-Ekiti, robbed and kidnapped a retired Naval officer, Lt. Cdr. Eisape Victoria, alongside Adeleke.
They were also accused of unlawful possession of three long-barrel guns, 33 live cartridges and 56 expended cartridges without licence on April 6, 2023, at Iyemero-Ekiti.
In her testimony, the victim, Victoria, told the court that she and Adeleke were attacked by armed men around 7 p.m. while returning from their farm on a motorcycle.
She said the assailants, armed with guns and cutlasses, dragged them into the bush where they were held for days and forced to demand a ransom of N70 million from their relatives.
According to her, they were eventually released after N8 million ransom was paid.
The prosecutor, Mr Albert Adeyemi, called seven witnesses and tendered exhibits including the defendants’ statements, a search warrant, firearms and ammunition recovered from them.
In his judgment, Justice Familoni held that the prosecution proved the offences against the first three defendants beyond reasonable doubt.
He described their retraction of confessional statements as an afterthought and consequently rejected their defence.
The judge, however, ruled that the prosecution failed to establish the charges against the fourth, fifth and sixth defendants, leading to their acquittal.
Justice Familoni said the convicts deserved stiff penalties to serve as a deterrent against kidnapping and related crimes.
He sentenced Agbogbo, Olamilekan and Gabriel to 10 years imprisonment each on the count of conspiracy.
On the kidnapping charges, Agbogbo and Olamilekan were sentenced to 15 years imprisonment each, while Agbogbo and Gabriel also received 15 years each on another count.
Gabriel was further sentenced to seven years imprisonment for unlawful possession of firearms.
The court ordered that the sentences should run concurrently and without option of fine, effective from the date of their arrest.
