An Ekiti State High Court, Ado Ekiti Division, has sentenced two kidnappers, Kola Makinde, 41, and Haruna Bika, 30, to death by hanging.
The court also sentenced the two men, who were arraigned on six counts bordering on conspiracy, robbery, rape and kidnapping to life imprisonment.
According to the charges, the two men, while armed with a cutlass and a gun, on October 6, 2021, at Idi Mango Camp, Ilasa Ekiti, robbed two men, Taiwo Oni and Mohammed Ayomide, of their phones and one Adejuwon Gbenga of N31,000.
They were also said to have “on the same date and place kidnapped one Adejuwon Daramola and raped the teenage mother of a five-month-old baby.”
In his statement to the police, one of the victims, who claimed to have been awoken by a bang on his door and ordered at gunpoint to open the door, said, “When they entered, they beat my wife and I with their cutlass; they took away the N31,000 I collected from a business centre in the afternoon.
“Thereafter, they took my daughter outside with the intention of raping her, but she resisted, following which they ordered her to sit with those already captured outside. They kidnapped Adejuwon and later demanded a N5m ransom,” he added.
The 19-year-old mother said she had wanted to escape following shouts in the neighbourhood.
“But before I knew it, they entered our house; they asked of my neighbour and I told them that I did not see him. They collected my baby from me, removed my pants and had sex with me.
“They were later arrested by the vigilantes in the community. They were recognised and identified by the fez cap forgotten at one of the crime scenes,” she added.
The police prosecutor called seven witnesses and tendered the defendants’ statements and the cap as exhibits, while the defendants, who spoke through their counsel, called one witness.
In the judgment, Justice Olalekan Olatawura found the two men guilty of conspiracy, kidnapping and armed robbery, and convicted them accordingly.
He said, “For count one (conspiracy), the defendants are sentenced to seven years’ imprisonment; counts two and three (armed robbery), the defendants are sentenced to death, to be hanged by the neck until they be dead, may God have mercy on your souls; count six (kidnapping), the defendants are sentenced to life imprisonment. The sentences are to run concurrently.”
