A Kwara State High Court presided over by Justice Suleiman Akanbi has jailed one Kazeem Mohammed who killed his neighbour and dismembered his body for ritual six days to his wedding.
Kazeem and three others, Madu Jeremiah, Mohammed Chatta and Jimoh Abdullateef, were arraigned on an eight-count charge of criminal conspiracy, culpable homicide, illegal possession of firearms, illegal removal of human parts and kidnapping.
The defendants had murdered one Olokose Ojo Olushola, a staff of the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) Unit of the University of the Ilorin Teaching Hospital (UITH) who hailed from Ondo State.
The police told the court that the remains of the deceased, without some parts, were recovered packed in a sack, and deposited at the mortuary of UITH.
The police said, “The attackers collected his ATM card and withdrew N1.2m from his bank account. They further demanded N12m ransom from the family before they were arrested.”
The deceased was said to be in his early 30s when the incident occurred in May, 2021.
Delivering judgement, Justice Akanbi said, “Despite killing the deceased, the defendants still demanded for ransom from the family; making it appear their victim was alive and held hostage by kidnappers.”
In the course of trial, the prosecution led by the Attorney General of Kwara State, Senior Ibrahim Sulyman, called nine witnesses and tendered several exhibits.
Kazeem was represented by A. O. Salaudeen of the Legal Aid Council.
Moses Jiya Dangana, Rasaq Ayodeji Saka and Dr Ahmed Isau stood for the 2nd, 3rd and 4th defendants.
In a lengthy judgement, the first defendant, Kazeem, accused of masterminding the killing, was sentenced to death by hanging. The court also handed him an additional 20 years in prison to run concurrently with a N200,000 fine for other counts and life imprisonment for kidnapping.
The 2nd and 3rd defendants, Madu Jeremiah and Mohammed Chatta, were sentenced to 10 years imprisonment, plus N100,000 fine each on two counts. Jeremiah was further sentenced to three years imprisonment with a N200,000 fine.
The judge discharged the 4th defendant, Jimoh Abdullateef, on all counts on the ground that the prosecution did not prove the charges against him beyond reasonable doubt.
