Metro

Court Sentences Four To Death For Stealing Motorcycle In Ekiti

Published

2 years ago

December 6, 2023

An Ekiti State High Court has sentenced four men to death for armed robbery.

The convicts Segun Friday (39), Tijani Semiu Seun (27), Ogunyemi Segun Olarewaju (29) and Adebayo Tope (23) were arraigned before Justice Adekunle Adeleye on 17th July, 2020 on a two-count charge of conspiracy and armed robbery.

According to the charge, the defendants on December 24, 2018 at Irare Village, Erinmope in Moba Local Government Area of Ekiti State, conspired to commit felony and rob one Adeleke Abiodun of his Bajaj motorcycle, while armed with guns.

The offences contravene Section 6(b) of the Robbery and Firearms (Special Provisions) Act. Cap. RII, Vol. 14 and Section 1(2) (a) Robbery and Firearms (Special Provisions) Act. Cap. RII, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004.

In his testimony before the court, the victim said, “I am a commercial motorcyclist plying Otun and Erinmope Ekiti. On the fateful day, I conveyed a lady from Otun to Erinmope Ekiti. On my way back to Otun, one man stopped me, we negotiated to take him to Irare village. I refused to go further when I discovered I was going inside the forest.

“I saw a motorcyclist pushing his bike towards us, he intervened in the argument, he said he was the one who brought the man from Ado Ekiti but ran out of petrol, he assured of me of my safety and I later agreed. He was making several phone calls while we were going.

“On our way, we bypassed a man and another one in front of me, before I knew it, the one at my back tried to strangle me on the motorcycle. When we fell, we were dragging the bike, the one I bypassed and the other in front of me joined and they dispossessed me of the motorcycle and ran away.

“I saw a man and his wife coming from their farm on a motorcycle, I narrated what happened to them and they raised the alarm and villagers came out and combed the surroundings which led to arrest of one of them.

“Thereafter, he was handed over to the police. He later led the police to the Atikankan area of Ado Ekiti where other members of the gang were arrested but the motorcycle was nowhere to be found till today.”

To prove his case, the prosecutor, Julius Ajibare, called three witnesses and tendered the defendants’ statements as exhibits while the defendants spoke through their counsel, Adeyinka Opaleke.

Delivering his judgment, Justice Adekunle Adeleye said, “There is an evidence of direct plot between the conspirators. The 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th defendants indeed took steps to achieve the agreed task of robbery.

“From the evidence placed before the court by the complainant, he has established beyond reasonable doubt, the meeting of mind of the defendants to dispossess the owner of a motorcycle.

“It is also established without doubt that the defendants took steps in achieving the agreed unlawful act of dispossessing his Bajaj motorcycle. The four defendants are found guilty in count one (conspiracy) and count two (armed robbery) as charged.”

The judge subsequently sentenced the convicts to death.

Metro

Police Bust Kidnap Ring, Rescue 23 Foreigners, Arrest 14 Suspects Near Abuja

Published

6 hours ago

November 1, 2025

Editor

The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Police Command has dismantled a transnational kidnapping syndicate that demanded N230 million ransom from foreign nationals lured into Nigeria under the guise of lucrative job offers.

Operatives of the command’s Scorpion Squad launched the sting operation around 8 p.m. on Tuesday, October 21, 2025, at Angwan Adamu Ruga Fulani Zone B, Riverside, Ado Mararaba, Nasarawa State, a border community near Abuja.

Fourteen suspected kidnappers were arrested and 23 foreign nationals rescued in the process.

According to police findings, the victims, all West African nationals, were deceived into travelling to Nigeria by a criminal network posing as employment recruiters.

Upon arrival, the victims were held captive, and the kidnappers demanded ransom from their families via WhatsApp and other online platforms.

FCT Police Public Relations Officer, SP Josephine Adeh, said on Friday that investigations identified the ringleader as Abubakar Jigiba, a suspected notorious cross-border criminal with known residences in Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, Mali and Nigeria.

The syndicate, she explained, demanded four million CFA francs (about N10 million) per person, a total ransom demand of N230 million.

Adeh confirmed that efforts are ongoing to track down the principal suspect, Abubakar Jigiba, and his brother, Sougule Zoubere, both of whom remain at large.

She said: “In a major breakthrough against kidnapping and human trafficking, operatives of the FCT Police Command’s Scorpion Squad have successfully arrested fourteen (14) suspected kidnappers and rescued twenty-three (23) victims, all foreign nationals, from captivity.

“The intelligence-led operation took place at about 8 p.m. on Tuesday, 21st October 2025, at Angwan Adamu Ruga Fulani Zone B, Riverside, Ado Mararaba, Nasarawa State.

“The operation followed a report indicating that several foreign nationals had been lured into Nigeria under the pretext of lucrative job offers. Upon arrival, they were held hostage by their abductors, who demanded ransom payments from their families via WhatsApp and other online platforms.

“Preliminary investigation revealed that the syndicate is coordinated by one Abubakar Jigiba, a transnational criminal kingpin with known residences in Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, Mali and Nigeria. His younger brother, Sougule Zoubere, handles the recruitment, kidnapping and smuggling of victims from Mali into Nigeria, where they are detained pending ransom payments. The group demanded four million CFA (N10,000,000) for each victim.

“Further investigations revealed that the victims were trafficked into the country through illegal border routes in a journey lasting about three days. They were subsequently confined in two fortified two-bedroom apartments under inhumane conditions.

“Acting on actionable digital and reconstructive intelligence, the Scorpion Squad traced the hideout to the above address, where a total of twenty-three (23) victims — fourteen (14) males, eight (8) females and one (1) child — were rescued unhurt, except one who sustained a minor ear injury and has been taken to the National Hospital, Abuja, for treatment.”

Metro

Woman Begs Court Not To Grant Husband’s Prayer For Divorce

Published

6 hours ago

November 1, 2025

Editor

A housewife, Fauziya Ibrahim, has begged an Area Court in Ilorin, Kwara State, not to grant her husband, Hamza Musbau’s prayer of divorce.

She told the court that she does not want her marriage dissolved.

“I have been married to my husband for 16 years and I want to remain in this marriage,” she told the court.

According to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN),Earlier, Hamza prayed for divorce on grounds of lack of love and affection.

The judge, Mr Toyin Aluko, said that on the strength of the provisions of the Holy Quran, Almighty Allah allows a wife to seek for settlement, just as divorce is allowed.

He, therefore, advised Fauziya to try her best to make peace and settle any misunderstanding between them.

Aluko adjourned the case.

Metro

Woman Seeks Divorce Over Alleged Abandonment, Abuse

Published

6 hours ago

November 1, 2025

Editor

A married woman, Love Thomas, has dragged her husband, Joshua, before an upper Customary Court sitting in Kaduna, Kaduna State, over alleged abandonment and violence.

According to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), the complainant’s lawyer, Victoria Omajawu prayed the court to dissolve their marriage on the grounds of abandonment.

She also prayed the court to restrain the defendant from threatening and disturbing her client’s peace or tranquility.

The defendant was however not in court.

The judge, Mrs Patience Musa, adjourned the case.