The Ekiti State High Court, sitting in Ado Ekiti, the state capital, has sentenced a 26-year-old man, Dele Ojo, to death by hanging for murder.
The prosecutor, Mr Wale Fapohunda, told the court that Ojo committed the offence on or about September 13, 2018 at Iroko-Ekiti, Ijero local government of Ekiti State, when he murdered Ajayi Adewole.
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A friend of the deceased testified that the defendant had been stealing Adewole’s yam “for a very long time”, but on the fateful day, he (witness) and Adewole hid in the farm at about 2am to arrest the culprit.
The witness said they saw Ojo carrying a hunting lamp on his head, pretending to be hunting, and started uprooting Adewole’s yams.
He added that when Adewole shouted Ojo’s name, the defendant shot the deceased to evade arrest and ran away.
Adewole was said to have been rushed to the Ijero Ekiti Specialist Hospital, where he was confirmed dead.
Fapohunda called four witnesses, including the case’s Investigating Police Officer and a medical doctor and tendered a Dane gun, five
tubers of yams and Ojo’s confessional statements, among other documents, as exhibits.
Sentencing the defendant, Justice Abiodun Adesodun said “the circumstances of this case do not allow for recommendation of clemency to the Governor on behalf of the accused.”
