A High Court sitting in Abeokuta, Ogun state on Friday, October 14, 2022, sentenced two men, John Inyere and Chibuike Ukwa, to death by hanging for armed robbery and murder of their friend Chidi Nwite.
The duo had pleaded not guilty to the four-count charge of conspiracy, armed robbery, and murder.
The judge, Patricia Oduniyi, in her judgement, noted that all the evidence tendered in court had convinced the court beyond reasonable doubt that the defendants were guilty of the offences as charged.
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She, therefore, sentenced each to death by hanging.
“That you John Inyere is sentenced to death by hanging. May God have mercy on your soul. That you Chibuike Ukwa is sentence to death by hanging until you be dead. May God have mercy on your soul,” she said.
The prosecutor, T. O Adeyemi, senior state counsel, told the court that the convicts committed the offence on 8 September, 2013, at Kajola Village along Lagos/Benin Expressway.
He said the convicts conspired to rob and kill one Mr Nwite.
Mr Adeyemi told the court that the deceased informed his friends, Messrs Inyere and Ukwa, that he wanted to sell his Mazda 626 Saloon car, that they should assist him get a buyer.
The first defendant, Mr Inyere, called the deceased that he had gotten a buyer at Ondo, suggesting that they should go together with the car to collect the money.
According to the prosecutor, the convicts robbed their friend of his car while on their way to Ondo State, in pretence to meet with the phantom buyer.
“On their way the first defendant and second defendant, conspired and robbed the deceased of his car while armed, and used a motor jack to hit the deceased on the head, which led to his death,” he said.
He noted that the offence contravened the criminal code laws of Ogun (2006) and the Robbery and Firearms (special provisions) Act, Law of the Federation of Nigeria (2004).