Justice Oluwatoyin Taiwo of the Lagos State Special Offences Court sitting at Ikeja, on Tuesday, sentenced a pastor, Erinmole Adetokunbo, and his accomplice, Adedoyin Oyekanmi, to death for killing a seven-year-old boy in the Ikorodu area of the state.

Justice Taiwo gave the verdict after the defendants changed their pleas from not guilty to guilty.

The men were arraigned on October 30, 2017, before the Lagos State High Court on two counts bordering on conspiracy and murder.

According to the charge sheet, Oyekanmi and Adetokunbo, on June 7, 2017, on Oke Oniburokun Street, Odokekere, Ikorodu, conspired to murder a seven-year-old boy, Kazeem Rafiu.

They were said to have beheaded Rafiu and buried the head around the church’s altar, while the body was kept in a canal.

Adetokunbo was later apprehended by residents. He was said to have confessed to the crime, naming Oyekanmi as his accomplice.

The duo led a team of policemen to the church, where the victim’s remains were recovered.

After four years of being remanded in prison, the state re-arraigned the convicts before the special offences court on September 21, 2021, as the trial commenced.

At the resumption of trial for the prosecutor to present another witness to prove the allegations against the convicts, the court was informed by the state counsel, Mrs O. A. Bajulaiye, and the defence counsel, Ms Anthonia Otsokwa, that the men had decided to change their pleas.

Subsequently, the judge ordered their pleas to be taken, according to The PUNCH.

The charges were read to them in Yoruba and they pleaded guilty to the two counts.

The state counsel, Mrs O. A. Bajulaiye, thereafter reviewed the facts of the case and urged the court to convict them accordingly.

While begging for mercy, the defence counsel, Ms Anthonia Otsokwa, told the court that the convicts had realised their offence and were remorseful for the death of the child.

In her judgement, Justice Taiwo noted that the case was a pathetic one as the defendants conspired and killed a child by cutting off his head for ritual purposes.

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The judge said, “These defendants have committed a heinous crime and deserve no mercy. They have cruelly and intentionally killed a seven-year-old boy, depriving him and his family of a bright destiny.

“Section 222 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State imposes the death penalty for premeditated murder and I have no hesitation in imposing the said punishment.

“I hereby sentence Adedoyin Oyekanmi and Erinwole Adetokunbo to death for killing Kazeem Rafiu. May God have mercy on your souls.”

PUNCH

The Lagos State Police Command has confirmed the arrest of a suspected fraudster, Emmanuel Rolland, for defrauding unsuspecting members of the public of their valuables around Ipakodo, in the Ikorodu area of the state.

The state Police Public Relations Officer, SP Benjamin Hundeyin, in a statement on Monday, said Rolland was arrested after his victim raised the alarm.

He said the suspect confessed to committing the crime after he was arrested.

Hundeyin said, “Officers of the Ipakodo division of the Lagos State Police Command have arrested one Emmanuel Rolland, 34, for duping unsuspecting passengers.

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“The suspect was arrested around 11.20pm on Friday, July 29, 2022, along Ipakodo Road, after his victim raised the alarm.

“Investigation revealed that the suspect, alongside his conspirators (still at large), while operating in a Volkswagen Jetta saloon car, with number plate, JJJ 27 DG, disguised as driver and passengers, picked unsuspecting passengers, and started discussions about some money purportedly kept in the boot.

“The suspect confessed to starting this crime in January, adding that he was arrested on his sixth outing. Effort is in top gear to arrest other fleeing members of the gang and other perpetrators of such crime.”

A Federal High Court in Lagos State on Thursday sentenced 20 Ghanaian fishermen to one-year imprisonment each for transporting 13.670 kilogrammes of marijuana, aka cannabis sativa, from Ghana to Nigeria.

Justice Nicholas Oweibo convicted and sentenced them after finding them guilty of the charges of conspiracy and unlawful transportation of the drug.

The convicted fishermen include Francis Teye, Kweke Komel, Gad Adjah, Theophilus Tetteh, Kwesi Aboagye, Ekon Fynn, Kwamena Baah, Kwabina Adjei, Micheal Okutu, Isaac Kofi, Kweku Moko, Kwezi Adzi and Kweku Mensah.

Others are Micheal Kofi, Ekon Bentum, Kwesi Amissah, Joshua Huago, Otu Otipeseku, Isaac Yorsson and Nana Kodwo.

The convicts were arrested with the drug conveyed from their country into the Nigerian territorial waters on January 14, 2022.

They were arraigned on two counts of conspiracy and unlawful transportation of the substance.

The prosecutor, Mr Fingere Owen, told the court that the offences were contrary to and punishable under sections 11(b) and 14(b) of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency Act Cap. N30, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004.

The defendants pleaded guilty to the charges.

Following their guilty pleas, the prosecutor reviewed the facts of the case.

Owen also tendered some exhibits and urged the court to convict and sentence them in accordance with the sections they were charged with.

However, lawyers to the convicts, Mr Uche Okoronkwo, who led Calistus Onyewueke, both of Minerva Legal Practice, told the court that all the defendants were first time offenders without previous criminal records.

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Okoronkwo told the court that his clients were fishermen, who were engaged by a purported customer, who did not tell them the content of the bag.

Justice Oweibo sentenced them to one-year imprisonment each.

The judge also ordered that the sentence should commence from the date of their arrest.

He, however, ordered the convicts to pay the sum of N50,000 each in lieu of the sentence and ordered that the boat used in smuggling the banned substance be forfeited to the Federal Government.