Four men were sentenced to death by hanging by an Osun State High Court sitting in Osogbo on Monday.
The men were sentenced for offences bordering on armed robbery and murder of a Victor Akinbile, said to be a relative of the immediate past Osun State Deputy Governor, Benedict Alabi.
The convicts, Hammed Rafiu, 37; Rasidi Waidi, 39; Kayode Sunday, 29; and Owolabi Bashiru, 54; were first arraigned before Justice Jide Falola on October 23, 2019, on six counts of armed robbery and murder to which they pleaded ‘not guilty’.
Prosecution Counsel from the state Ministry of Justice, Dele Akintayo, while giving the facts of the case, said Akinbile had come to Osun on November 26, 2018, for the swearing-in ceremony of the former governor, Adeboyega Oyetola, and went to Ikirun to pass the night when he was abducted by the four men.
Akintayo informed the court that one of the defendants, Owolabi, a security guard working in a house opposite where the victim wanted to pass the night, informed others about his arrival.
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He said the four men, fully armed, broke into the victim’s room and demanded a sum of N10 million, and the victim transferred N3 million to a bank account belonging to one of the assailants and also gave them the cash he had with him.
The counsel said the four men locked the deceased in the trunk of his Toyota Camry and drove him to a spot along the Osogbo/Ikirun road, where they set the vehicle ablaze, after collecting the money.
Ajibade and Adedayo Adedeji, the counsels for the defendants, had earlier told the court that there was no evidence to show that they held a meeting before they carried out the act.
In his judgment, Justice Falola said the prosecution’s counsel had proved his case beyond doubt and sentenced the four men to death by hanging.
Adding that the cash recovered from the convicts and the cash in their bank accounts should be handed over to the widow of the deceased.
The judge also stated that none of the convicts should benefit from any state pardon.
