Delta court sentences 3 armed robbers to death by hanging

Nosa Akenzua, Asaba

An Asaba High Court in Asaba, Delta state has sentenced three armed robbers to death by hanging.

Samuel Osadebe, Emeka Obodoechina and Onyelluka Owelleka were sentenced to death by Justice Thearesa Dai on charges bordering on armed robbery and kidnapping.

A prosecution witness, Hygienius Nwadike testified that the first accused person, Samuel Osadebe with Facebook name Barry lured him to Asaba from Owerri under the pretext that he wanted to open his new house in Asaba.

“The accused person sent someone to pick me up in a Honda vehicle and on our way we stopped at a bush and five armed men emerged from the bush with a locally made pistol, sticks and cutlasses.

“I was beaten up mercilessly and I was dispossessed of my valuables including N3, 700 after which the robbers demanded a ransom of N2.5million, but my family paid N90, 000 after negotiation before I was released,” he said

Inspector Nwadike said that while still in the custody of the abductors, another victim, one Ese Ekong a youth corps member was brought to the same place inside the bush around Okwe Oduke community, disclosing that the said corps member passed out after severe beating and his corpse was dumped in a river in the forest.

But, the defense counsel to the accused persons, Kingsley Ekenede however, urged the court to discharge and acquit the accused persons based on contradictions in dates when the kidnap of the deceased was reported to the police and when Nwadike saw the deceased, and the prosecution’s failure to call material witnesses.

Relying on both judicial and statutory authorities, the presiding judge, Justice Dai dismissed the submission of the defence counsel, stressing that the purported contradictions were not fatal to the prosecution’s case.

In a 21-page judgement, Justice Dai posited that having considered the cases of the suspects, she is convinced that each of the three accused persons was guilty of the offence of armed robbery and kidnapping under Section 1(2) (a) of the Robbery and Firearms (Special Provision) Act law of Delta state and the Anti-Kidnapping and Anti-Terrorism Law 2013.

Reacting to allocutus (plea of mercy) by the defence counsel, the court stated that it wished it could impose terms of years at least to serve as lesson to the accused persons, but said it could not having regard to the fact that the sentence for armed robbery was the mandatory death sentence.