Ondo Court Sentences College Lecturer to Death by Hanging for Armed Robbery
In a landmark judgment, an Ondo State High Court sitting in Akure has handed down a death sentence to a lecturer at the College of Health Technology, Ijero-Ekiti, Ekiti State, for his involvement in armed robbery and conspiracy. The defendant, Shittu Isiaka, was convicted on two counts but acquitted on a third charge due to lack of sufficient evidence.
Court Proceedings and Judgment Details
Justice O. M. Adejumo delivered the verdict after a thorough trial, finding Isiaka guilty of conspiracy to commit armed robbery and armed robbery. The court, however, discharged and acquitted him on the third count of endangering life or health, ruling that the prosecution failed to prove this allegation beyond reasonable doubt as required by law.
The case dates back to November 26, 2018, when Isiaka was first arraigned on a three-count charge. According to the prosecution, on July 5, 2017, at approximately 11 a.m., the defendant and others still at large robbed one Olatunji Olowoyeye of his Nissan Cabstar vehicle with registration number XJ 214 KTU at gunpoint along the Akure–Ilesha Expressway near Ibuji.
Victim's Testimony and Allegations
Testifying before the court, the victim, Olowoyeye, a commercial driver who knew the defendant, recounted how Isiaka and two others hired him in Ilesa to transport cocoa beans from Igbara-Oke for N20,000. They paid N8,000 upfront, promising to settle the balance after the trip.
Olowoyeye described how the situation turned violent when the men asked him to reverse his vehicle into a bush near a primary school at Ibuji. One of the men sitting beside him suddenly produced a gun, while Isiaka sat close to him in the front seat. The assailants dragged him out of the vehicle, seized the key, his phone, and money, tied his hands and legs, and abandoned him in the bush.
The victim further alleged that Isiaka injected him with a substance before tying him to a tree. He managed to roll himself through the bush until reaching the main road, where police officers rescued him and took him to the hospital. Olowoyeye claimed he passed bloody urine for days and spent about 15 days in the hospital recovering from the ordeal.
Police Testimony and Defendant's Defense
A police witness, Inspector Kehinde Omotosho, testified that the victim was brought to the Igbara-Oke Police Station naked by highway patrol officers, after which he made a statement implicating Isiaka. During the trial, the defendant vehemently denied all allegations, insisting he was not involved in the robbery and did not inject the victim with any substance.
Isiaka argued that he was not a medical practitioner and had no licence to obtain or administer injections. He pointed out that police investigators did not present any syringe or other items allegedly used in the crime, and no medical report was provided to prove that the complainant was injected with a poisonous substance.
Court's Reasoning and Final Ruling
In its judgment, the court held that the prosecution failed to prove the offence of endangering life as required by Section 135(1) of the Evidence Act. Justice Adejumo noted the absence of an eyewitness account of the alleged injection and the lack of a medical report to support the victim's claim of hospitalisation.
The court ruled that it would be unsafe to rely solely on the testimonies of the victim and another witness without supporting medical evidence. Consequently, doubts created by the evidence were resolved in favour of the defendant, leading to his acquittal on the third count.
However, the court found sufficient evidence linking Isiaka to the robbery. Justice Adejumo therefore convicted him for conspiracy to commit armed robbery and armed robbery. He was sentenced to life imprisonment for conspiracy and death by hanging for the armed robbery offence.
The judge declared that the sentence of the court upon the convict was that he "be hanged by the neck until he is dead," adding a prayer that God would have mercy on his soul. The prosecution was represented by John Dada Joshua, while O. I. Tiwo appeared for the defendant.
