On Thursday, Justice Blessing Ajileye of the Ado Ekiti Division of the Ekiti State High Court sentenced Benjamin Joseph and Stephen Orban to death by hanging for robbery.
Thirty-two-year-old Joseph and 25-year-old Orban were arraigned on December 30, 2022, facing a four-count charge of conspiracy and armed robbery.
“On 16th August 2022 along Iluomoba Road, Aisegba Ekiti did conspire to commit a felony, to wit, armed robbery. At the time of the robbery, they were armed with locally made guns, knives, and cutlasses and did rob Daramola Christiana and Ajayi Alaba of their belongings such as phones, power bank, creams, drugs, ATM Cards, and N105,000 cash, among others,” the charge sheet said.
One of their victims, a trader, testified in court that four armed men attacked them at a barricaded point on the Aisegba Ekiti stretch of the Omuo-Ado Ekiti Road.’
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“They collected our phones, power bank, other valuables, and a cash sum of N105,000.00 and ran into the bush. I was rescued by a sympathiser, but the driver drove back to Omuo and made a formal complaint to the police,” the victim said.
Prosecutor Ibironke Odetola brought witnesses to testify in court and presented various exhibits, including charms, phones, camouflage underwear, a hammer, three hoods, fake dollar notes, and cutlasses.
The defendants’ lawyer, Adeyinka Opaleke, did not call any witnesses.
In her judgment, the judge stated that the prosecution had proven the case of armed robbery on August 16, 2022, beyond a reasonable doubt and found the accused guilty.
“Consequently, the sentence of this court upon Benjamin Joseph and Stephen Orban is that they are hanged by the neck until they are dead. May God have mercy on your souls,” the judge ruled.
(PeoplesGazatte)
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