By Ado Oyeyemi
An Edo State High Court sitting in Benin City has sentenced four men to death by hanging for offences including kidnapping and membership of a secret cult.
The convicts were sentenced by the Special Criminal Court presided over by Justice Terry Momodu Aigbona after a judgment that lasted more than three hours.
The court convicted the alleged leader of the kidnapping syndicate, 32-year-old Isaac Marvellous, on all 11 counts brought against him.
Justice Aigbona subsequently sentenced Marvellous to death, ordering that the punishment be carried out by hanging or lethal injection.
The other convicts are Wisdom Michael, 36; Rufus Michael, 30; and Gift Raphael, 27.
The four men were prosecuted on an 11-count charge bordering on kidnapping, cultism and other violent offences.
The court also imposed various prison terms in relation to some of the offences before ordering that firearms tendered as exhibits be handed over to the Federal Government.
The judgment brings to a close the prosecution of the four men over their alleged involvement in the kidnapping syndicate.
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Further details of the court’s findings and the sentences imposed on the other counts are expected to emerge from the judgment.
