By Ado Oyeyemi
An Ondo State High Court sitting in Akure has sentenced two men, Emmanuel Sunday and Oluwaseyi Adeyemi, to death by hanging for their involvement in the armed robbery and killing of a farm worker in Idanre Local Government Area of the state.
The convicts were prosecuted on charges of conspiracy, armed robbery and murder, offences punishable under the Robbery and Firearms (Special Provisions) Act and the Criminal Code of Ondo State.
They had pleaded not guilty to the charges when they were arraigned before the court.
During the trial, a farmer, Samson Olayiwola, testified that on June 3, 2021, while travelling to his farm located at Ori-Okuta in the Aseigbo area of Idanre, he saw the first defendant riding a motorcycle in the opposite direction.
According to the witness, he later arrived at the farm and discovered his labourer, John Edet, lying in a pool of blood with multiple machete wounds.
Olayiwola told the court that the victim informed him that armed robbers had attacked him and made away with his motorcycle.
He further stated that before succumbing to his injuries at a hospital, Edet identified Sunday and Adeyemi as the men who assaulted and robbed him.
The farmer also identified the first defendant as the individual he had seen earlier riding the stolen motorcycle.
Delivering judgment, Justice William Olamide held that the prosecution proved its case beyond reasonable doubt and established that the defendants were responsible for the death of the deceased.
The judge ruled that the evidence presented before the court clearly showed that the convicts acted in concert to carry out the robbery that resulted in the victim’s death.
Consequently, Justice Olamide sentenced the duo to seven years imprisonment for conspiracy and imposed the death penalty by hanging for the offences of armed robbery and murder.
