3 Men To Die for Robbery, 2 Boys Nabbed For Rầping Women Going Home From Night Vigil

An Ado Ekiti High Court yesterday sentenced three men to death by hanging. In his judgment, Justice Olusegun Ogunyemi, said, “after careful consideration of the evidences before the court, I hereby find the accused persons guilty to the charges of conspiracy and armed robbery as charged and hereby convict them thereof ”. The condemned persons Taiwo Hassan (39), Henry Okeke (30) and Oladimeji Olanrewaju (27) had in December 2010 robbed one Mr Lateef Saka of his cell-phone, the sum of N360.00 and a Toyota bus at gun-point. Earlier during the trial, the prosecuting counsel, Mr. Oluwaseun Fasote, a legal officer in the office of the Director of Public Prosecution, DPP, had told the court that the convicts committed the offence on 7 December, 2010, along Ado-Afao Road, in the Ado-Ekiti Judicial Division of Ekiti State. According to the charge sheet preferred against them, the three condemned persons “conspired together to commit felony to wit: Armed Robbery”. It stated: “Taiwo Hassan, Henry Okeke and Oladimeji Olanrewaju on the same date place and time while armed with offensive weapon to wit: gun, robbed one Mr Lateef Saka of his cell-phone, the sum of N360.00 and a Toyota Hummer bus with registration No XQ 987 BDG.” The prosecutor had said that the offences committed contravened Sections: 6(B),1(2)(a) of the Robbery and Firearms (Special Provisions) Act Cap R11 Volume 14, Laws of Nigeria 2004. In a related development, policemen from the State Police Command have arrested a two-man armed robbery gang who robbed and rầpèd two women returning from a prayer vigil. Spokesman for the Command, Mr Victor Babayemi, said in a statement that the suspects, 19-year-old Olaseni Daramola and 20-year-old Olumide Tunde robbed the victims of two Blackberry and one nokia phones, handbags containing a Holy Bible and other valuables. The police spokesman said the women were returning from a prayer vigil organised by a church at Falegan Area, Ado-Ekiti at about 4am when the armed hoodlums accosted them, pretending to be members of local vigilance groups and in the process robbed and rầpèd them in an uncompleted building nearby.