An Ekiti State High Court in Nigeria sitting in Ado-Ekiti has sentenced three persons to death by hanging for robbing and threatening to kill an 87-year-old woman in Ifaki-Ekiti.
The convicts — Shadrack Apos (30), Lucky Akpos (33), and Adunola Precious (24) — were arraigned before Justice Lekan Ogunmoye on August 19, 2024, on a two-count charge of conspiracy and armed robbery.
According to the charge sheet, the defendants, on June 12, 2024, conspired to rob Mrs. Victoria Folorunso of the sum of ₦147,000 and a wristwatch while armed with a gun and wooden planks, contrary to Sections 421 and 321(2)(b) of the Criminal Laws of Ekiti State, 2021.
During her testimony, the octogenarian victim recounted that she was asleep around 1:00 a.m. when two men entered her room, one holding a gun and the other a plank. They demanded all her money, taking ₦100,000 in cash and an additional ₦47,000 she had hidden in her underwear. The robbers also took her wristwatch, a gift from her children, before returning her phone.
She told the court that the men threatened to shoot her and later instructed her to withdraw ₦3 million from her bank account and hand it over to her house help, Adunola Precious, by 11:00 a.m. the next day. According to her, the robbers did not wear masks and appeared to relate freely with her house help, suggesting an inside connection.
The elderly woman said the attackers later called to threaten her for delaying the payment, after which she informed her children about the incident.
The prosecution, led by Kunle-Shina Adeyemo, called two witnesses and tendered several exhibits, including the defendants’ statements, a search warrant, and a wooden gun. The defense counsels, Oluwatoyin Marcus and Mitchel Aribisala, each called one witness on behalf of their clients.
In his judgment, Justice Ogunmoye held that the third defendant, Adunola Precious, had opened the door for the robbers, thereby playing a crucial role in the crime. He noted that the prosecution had proven the charges of conspiracy and armed robbery beyond reasonable doubt.
“My earlier findings that the third defendant, Adunola Precious, must have opened the door to enable the robbers to have seamless entry into the house aptly demonstrated her own pivotal role in the plan to rob the victim,” the judge stated.
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“The first, second, and third defendants are hereby found guilty as charged. They are to be hanged by the neck until they are dead. May God have mercy on their souls,” he pronounced.
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Source:Africa Publicity
