17th April, 2024
By Jethro Ibileke
Justice R. Irele -Ifijeh of an Edo State High Court in Benin City, has sentenced three persons to death by hanging for armed robbery, kidnapping and murder.
The convicts, Solomon Abuede, James Monday and Kelvin Edward were convicted and sentenced for the kidnap and murder of one Ephraim Akhere in Ihumudumun Quarters, Ekpoma, Esan West local government area of the State, on 13 June, 2014.
The court also sentenced one Oviasogie Sunday, alias Alhaji of Kano to life imprisonment for receiving an Infinity SUV with registration number EFR 218 FB, property of the late Ephraim which was stolen after the murder.
The offences are punishable under Section 3 of the Kidnapping Prohibition Amendment Law of Edo State 2013 and the Armed Robbery and Fire Arms Act.
The convicts were among the six persons arraigned before Justice R. Irele-Ifijeh in a suit number: HEK/25c/24, on a six count charge of armed robbery, kidnapping, conspiracy and receipt of stolen property.
Two others, David Williams and Monday Ozomo were discharged for lack of evidence linking them to the armed robbery and kidnapping.
Earlier during prosecution, the court heard that the kidnappers rode on a motorcycle, armed with dangerous weapons, kidnapped their victims and asked Ephraim, the driver and Sandra to move to the back seat, and lower their heads, while Solomon took over the driver’s seat.
Thereafter, they drove to the bank, where two of the kidnappers held their victims hostage inside the car, while the others went to the bank with the ATM card of Ephraim to withdraw money from his account.
From there, they were said to have driven to an uncompleted building where Solomon Abuede threw Ephraim into a well after giving him rat poison to swallow, while the girl was given the option of jumping into the well or eating the rat poison given to her.
Solomon who provided the rat poison later spared her life, but raped her after she pleaded that her life be spared
Monday Ozomo and James Monday who was said to have provided the gun used for the operation, later took the Infinity SUV and two other stolen vehicles to Kano where Oviasogie paid ₦420,000 for the Infinity SUV out of the agreed ₦500,000.
In a 91-page judgement, Justice Irele-Ifijeh said that the confessional statements of Solomon Abuede, James Monday and Kelvin Edward, that they participated in the armed robbery were corroborated by the evidence of one Sandra, a prosecution witness who was in the same vehicle and kidnapped with the late Ephraim.