An Osun State High Court, Ile-Ife Division, presided over by Justice AbdulRasaq AbdulKaeem, has sentenced a 38- year-old man, Jeremiah Idowu to death over armed robbery.
Briefing the court on how Idowu deserved to be punished, the prosecuting counsel from the State Ministry of Justice, Jacob Ayanyemi said Idowu, who said that he was a herbalist had hired Rasheed Kehinde, a motorcyclist, on May 23rd, 2005 at Toro Farm Area, Modakeke-Ife, while operating his Okada motorcycle business, to convey him to cut his herbal medicine.
Ayanyemi said as they were going, Idowu asked the motorcyclist tp branch to his sister’s house, where they collected cutlass to use for cutting the the root of the trees and other herbs.
When they got to the bush, the convict gave Kehinde his diary to hold for him, and assured that he would not run away.
When Kehinde was invited to testify, he explained that when they got to the bush, the accused asked him to wait for him, while he went into the bush to fetch the said herbs and that because it was already getting late, the accused person asked him to help him pick the herbs which he has caught down in a polythene bag.
And he said that when he bend down to pick the herbs, the accused person then hit him with cutlass he was holding and asked him to bring all the money he had with him which he handed over to the accused person in the sum of N7, 800.
He said when the accused person demanded for the key of the motorcycle before he then took to this heels and the accused person pursued him, but was forced to stop when he heard the noise of Doma wood cutting machine.
After the accused person had gone, Kehinde said he then went back to picked his Okada motorcycle and returned home.
He narrated the incident to his parent, in which they took him to Division “A” Police Station, Moore, Ile-Ife where the case was reported.
The accused completely denied one-count charge of armed robbery, but he made the confessional statement at the police station.
Ayanyemi who endered the confessional statement of the accused and two witnesses said it’s case has been proved beyond reasonable doubt that Idowu robbed Kehinde on that fateful day.
Justice AbdulKareem pointed out that the prosecution Counsel had proved it’s case as all evidence including confessional statement from the accused, point to the fact that he committed armed robbery.
He said ” I therefore, found the accused person guilty of armed robbery charged preferred against him and hereby convicted accordingly.
Justice AbdulKareem hereby sentenced the convict to death”.
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