An Ekiti State High Court, Ado Ekiti Division, has sentenced a
49-year-old man, Ademola Akinola, to death by hanging for
shooting his elder brother to death and taking away his
motorcycle.
Ademola was arraigned in December 2020 for robbing and killing
his elder brother, Tunde Akinola.
The charge read, “That you, Akinola Ademola, on November 19,
2019, at Usin Ekiti, in the Ikole Local Government Area of Ekiti
State, did rob one Tunde Akinola of his Bajaj motorcycle with
registration number ADK 011 VC. At the time of the robbery, you
were armed with an offensive weapon, to wit; a gun.”
The charge added that the defendant “on the same date, time and place, did murder the victim, Tunde Akinola”.
An eyewitness, Anike Ogunnusi, who testified before the court,
said she and the deceased were going along a footpath on the farm when she saw somebody inside the bush pointing a gun at Tunde.
The witness said, “I shouted, ‘Tunde, run, run, somebody is
pointing a gun at you’. Then I took to my heels. While running, I
heard a gunshot. I later saw a passerby on the road. When I
explained what happened to him, he accompanied me to the scene.
On getting there, we met the deceased face down in a pool of
blood; his motorcycle had been taken away.”
“During police investigation, the motorcycle of the deceased was
found in his younger brother’s possession; he had changed the
number plate. But the discovery was made through the motorcycles’ documents,” he added.
The police prosecutor, Kunle-Shina Adeyemi, said the offences
contravened sections 402 (2) and 319(1) of the Criminal Code Law,
Cap. C16, Laws of Ekiti State of Nigeria, 2012.
The prosecutor, who called four witnesses, also tendered the
statements of the witnesses and defendant, two locally-made guns,
the photograph of the defendant posing with the motorcycle,
motorcycle particulars, and a medical report, among others, as
exhibits.
The defendant spoke through his counsel, Olarewaju Oluwasola, and called no witness.
In the court judgment, Justice Lekan Ogunmoye said, “The
ingredients of the offences of armed robbery and murder have been established against the defendant.
The defendant is accordingly convicted as charged for the offences of armed robbery and murder.
The defendant is sentenced to death by hanging on count one (armed robbery) and count two (murder) until he be dead.”
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