The Osun State High Court sitting in Ede on Tuesday sentenced a herdsman, Issa Ibrahim m, and four others to death for kidnapping and killing his father, Adamu Ibrahim, after collecting N3 million ransom.
Other convicts sentenced include Lateef Bello, Abdulrahmon Soliu,Bello IIbrahim and Jolaanabi Saheed.
They were arraigned on four counts of conspiracy, kidnapping and murder, alongside the mother of Jolaanabi (Ajibola Shared) who was later discharged of the offences.
The convicts pleaded not guilty to the alleged offences, but the prosecuting counsel from the Osun State Ministry of Justice, Moses Faremi, during the trial called three witnesses; including two sons of the deceased and a police officer.
He also tendered evidence against the defendants, including a stool, club, among others recovered from the house of Jolaanabi, where the deceased was kept at Owode-Ede, after he was kidnapped on April 17, 2017.
“They kidnapped Adamu from his house and took him to the house of Jolaanabi. They demanded for ransom of N10 million and later reduced same to N3 million which was paid and delivered at Sagamu in Ogun-State.
“While the deceased was in their den, the veil on his face fell off and he recognized his abductors after which they killed and dismembered his body and threw the parts into Osun river to cover the crime.
“Issa, one of the convicts, who is the son of the deceased, told other gang members that his father did not give him his birthright, hence, urged them to kidnap him for ransom of either money or cow,” the prosecutor informed the court.
The presiding judge, Justice Kudirat Akano, while delivering her judgement, said the prosecution counsel was able to establish that the convicts committed the crime of conspiracy, murder and kidnapping as established in their confessional statements and the evidence given by an eyewitness, who is also a prosecuting witness.
She said thereafter sentenced the convicts to 14 years jail term for conspiracy, 14 years for kidnapping and death for murder, adding that the terms are to run concurrently.