By Charles Ayodele
An Ekiti State High Court sitting in Ado-Ekiti has sentenced two men to 25 years imprisonment each for kidnapping, while discharging and acquitting a third defendant.
Justice Lekan Ogunmoye delivered the judgment on Tuesday after finding Ibrahim Abubakar, 44, and Abdulahi Abubakar, 41, guilty of kidnapping. A fourth defendant, Abdulazeez Alebiosu, 59, died during the pendency of the case. The second defendant, Usman Abubakar, 49, was discharged and acquitted.
The four men were arraigned on October 4, 2022, on a three-count charge of conspiracy, murder, and kidnapping. The prosecution said the defendants conspired to murder Taiwo Adesina on March 9, 2022, along the Federal Polytechnic Road, Ado-Ekiti, and later conspired to kidnap Omoboade Adesina on April 22, 2022, contrary to Sections 244, 234, and 279(1)(a) of the Criminal Law of Ekiti State, 2021.
Testifying before the court, Omoboade Adesina, a staff of the NYSC in Ekiti State, said gunmen attacked her husband’s farm on March 9, 2022.
“He tried to escape but was shot in the head and was rushed to Ekiti State University Teaching Hospital, Ado-Ekiti, where he was pronounced dead on arrival,” she said.
She told the court that after mourning for some days, she returned to the farm with her son and brother-in-law. While there, gunmen stormed the premises, dragged her out, and took her away on a motorcycle to an unknown location.
“They used my phone to negotiate for a ransom of ₦10 million, but my relatives could only raise and pay ₦3.25 million,” she said.
She added that she saw some of the gunmen clearly during her captivity and later identified them when they were paraded by the police.
To prove its case, the prosecution, led by Kunle-Shina Adeyemo, called seven witnesses and tendered the defendants’ statements and MTN call logs as exhibits. The defendants, represented by counsel Chris Omokhafe, testified in their own defense but called no witnesses.
In his judgment, Justice Ogunmoye held that the prosecution failed to prove the charges of conspiracy and murder beyond reasonable doubt. The court also found that the victim did not mention the second defendant, Usman Abubakar, in her testimony.
“The victim did not in any way mention the name of the 2nd defendant (Usman Abubakar). He is accordingly discharged and acquitted on all the charges,” the judge said.
On the kidnapping charge, the court held that the prosecution proved its case against the first and third defendants.
“Accordingly, the 1st and 3rd defendants, Ibrahim Abubakar and Abdulahi Abubakar, are hereby sentenced to 25 years imprisonment each,” Justice Ogunmoye ruled.
