An Osun State High Court, sitting in Ede has sentenced a middle-aged herdsman, Issa Ibrahim to death for kidnapping, killing and dismembering body of his father, Adamu Ibrahim over inheritance.Issa Ibrahim was convicted alongside four others including Lateef Bello, Abdulrahman Soliu, Bello Ibrahim and Jolaanabi Saheed.
The convicts were first arranged on the 28th of October 2021 on four counts but all pleaded not guilty.
The prosecuting counsel from the Osun State Ministry of Justice, Moses Faremi had during the trial called three witnesses to include two sons of the deceased and a police officer.
He also tendered evidences against them including a stool, club, and others recovered from the house of Jolaanabi where the deceased was kept at Owode-Ede after he was kidnapped on the 17th of April 2017.
Faremi stated that the convicts kidnapped Adamu Ibrahim from his house and took him to the house of Jolaanabi where they demanded for ransom of N10m but later reduced it to N3m which was delivered to them at Sagamu in Ogun-State.
He said while the father was in their den, the veil used to cover his face fell-off and he recognized his abductors and this made them to kill him and dismember his body which they threw into Osun river to cover the crime.
It was also revealed that one of the convicts who is the son of the deceased told other gang members of failure of his father to give him his birthright, hence the need to kidnap him for ransom of either money or cow.
The presiding judge, Justice Kudirat Akano said the prosecution counsel was able to established that the convicts committed the crime of conspiracy, murder and kidnapping by their confessional statements and the evidence given by an eyewitness who is one of the sons of the deceased
She discharged and acquitted Ajibola Saheed who is the mother of the gang leader on the ground that there was no evidence that linked her to any of the crimes committed.
She also sentenced them to fourteen years imprisonment for conspiracy and kidnapping which will run concurrently.
