Writing by ALI MUHAMMAD RABIU; Editing by BASIRAT MEMUDU
The Kwara State High Court sitting in Ilorin, presided over by Justice Ahmed Aliyu Gegele has sentenced two men to death by hanging.
The convicts, Abubakar Sodiki and Abubakar Mohammed, were prosecuted on 6-count charges bordering on criminal conspiracy, armed robbery, kidnapping and illegal possession of firearms.
Delivering the judgment, Justice Ahmed Aliyu Gegele said the evidence before the court clearly established the involvement of the convicts in the offences.
The victim, Alhaji Saheed Arowasi of Boniya in Baruten Local Government Area of Kwara State, had earlier narrated his ordeal in the hands of the kidnappers while testifying before the court.
He told the court that the kidnappers initially demanded a ransom of N100 million, but after negotiations, the amount was reduced to N10 million before he was eventually released.
The judge also admitted the statements made by the defendants and the victim at the police station as part of the evidence considered in the case.
On the charge relating to illegal possession of firearms, Justice Gegele convicted the defendants under counts three and four.
The prosecution counsel, Muslimah Suleiman, had argued that the charges brought against the defendants were sufficiently established by the evidence presented before the court.
Counsel to the defendants, Shu’aib Ibrahim pleaded with the court to temper justice with mercy.
While the first defendant begged the court for leniency, the second defendant maintained that he knew nothing about the allegations and urged the court to discharge and acquit him.
