Court sentences two to death for conspiracy, armed robbery in Delta
BY NOSA AKENZUA
The Effurun High Court I in Uvwie Local Government Area of Delta State, has convicted and sentenced two men, Emmanuel Ruekpe and Peter Okoro to death by hanging on a two- count charge of conspiracy and armed robbery in the state.
The court was presided over by Honourable Justice E. I. Oritsejafor.
The two defendants, according to the nominal complainant, Mr Ode Odera Gabriel, boarded his bike on September 24, 2016, at Otu-Jeremi Junction and were going to Owhawa Town, of which he charged them the sum of N400 and they agreed to pay.
According to him, in the course of the journey, the 2nd defendant after he came out from a compound at Oghoir in Udu Local Government Area, where he claimed to had gone to discuss an issue with his elder brother, stopped the cyclist, claiming that his face cap fell and wanted to pick it up, but suddenly broke a Coca cola bottle and in a bid to avoid being stabbed, the nominal complainant ran away.
The nonimal complainant (bikeman), recognised the first defendant thereafter, whom he knew as a local dancer, and he subsequently reported the matter to the Oghoir Vigilante Chairman, leading to the arrest of the condemned at the Ovwian Police Station.
Delivering his judgement after careful examination of available evidences, Justice Oritsejafor noted that the prosecution presented an overwhelming evidence which he said was sufficient to discharge the burden of proof on the case.
Reacting to the judgement, the prosecutor, Mr. Ezeana Ejiofor, who is a Deputy Director in the state Ministry of Justice, expressed satisfaction with it, but appealed to the relevant authorities in the country to consider the abolition of death sentences and replace such with alternative life imprisonment.
Mr Ejiofor advised youths to shun anything illegal and be patient and to work hard to achieve success and never to get involved in any form of crime that could possibly cut short of their lives and freedom, dreams and aspirations.
READ ALSO: Tinubu Will Fix Nigeria – Adeboye
Mr Ejiofor appealed to government at all levels to recognise the honour, dignity and straight forward disposition of the father of the second defendant, who on his own volition, admitted that he saw his son with a bike with the description of the stolen motorbike and subsequently took his son to the Police station.
He averred that after the court passed the sentence on the second defendant, the relations and friends of the father would condemn his actions for turning his son up for prosecution and deter others in the society from speaking out against criminality, just as the State Counsel maintained that the father of the second defendant should be publicly honoured with an award to encourage others to emulate his good example and speak against criminality and evils in the society.
