Kidnappers of Osun Speaker’s wife jailed 27 years

An Osun State High Court sitting in Iwo, yesterday, sentenced five persons that had been standing trial over the kidnap of the wife of Osun State House of Assembly Speaker, Alhaja Muibat Salaam, to 27 years imprisonment each.

The convicts, Chukwudi Okereke (40), Ogbole Ochijile Elijah (25), Okonkwo Lucky (33), Kaikine Mahah (35) and Nwadinnor Philip (30) were, last year, arrested in Ilaro, Ogun State, by the Police.

They were said to have conspired, while armed with AK-47, and kidnapped Mrs. Salaam, who was returning from her shop in her Honda Accord car with number plate OSHA02 at 8p.m. around Oke-Oyo Road in Ejigbo area of the state on October 9, 2012.

According to the prosecution, led by the Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice in the state, Mr. Adewale Afolabi, the convicts had confessed to the kidnapping of the Speaker’s wife in their individual statements to the police during investigations.

Judgment

Delivering his judgment, which lasted for over an hour, Justice Moshood Adeigbe said that the prosecution had been able to establish their case against the defendants.

Justice Adeigbe said: “The confessional statements were clear that the accused persons met at Royal Hotel in Agbor, DeltaState, where they planned the kidnap, perfected it in Lagos and carried it out in Ejigbo.

“The exhibits also showed that the five accused persons kidnapped Mrs. Salaam, forced her into a trailer and dragged her into the bush on their way to Lagos, before Ogun State Police Command arrested them.

“I hold that the prosecution have established their case and therefore found the five accused persons guilty of conspiracy, kidnapping and unlawful possession of firearms.”

Although the defence counsel, Messrs Sam George and Fredrick Komolafe, prayed the court to temper justice, Justice Adeigbe maintained that the five convicts deserved the full punishments for their offence, saying that the act was heartless and condemnable.

Jail terms

For the count of conspiracy, Justice Adeigbe ruled that each of the five convicts is sentenced to seven years imprisonment, while he sentenced them to 10 years imprisonment for the count of kidnapping and 10 years for the charge of unlawful possession of fire arms.

Justice Adeigbe, however, noted that each term of the sentence shall run concurrently since the counts arose out of the charges of the same act.

Reacting to the judgment, the defence counsel said that they will appeal the judgment, saying that his clients were found guilty based on confessional statements.

He said the confessional statements were not verified, adding that the best option was trial within trial to authenticate the confessional statements.