An Ekiti State High Court, Ado Ekiti Division, has sentenced a 37-year-old man, Kazeem Ayeni, to death by hanging for the offence of armed robbery.
Armed with a pistol, Ayeni had, on October 2, 2024, robbed five students of Bamidele Olumilua University of Education, Science and Technology, Ikere Ekiti, of their phones.
Justice Lekan Olatawura, in his judgement on Monday, found Ayeni guilty and consequently sentenced him to death by hanging.
Olatawura said, “I am unable to exercise any discretion in favour of a defendant who showed no remorse throughout his trial. The punishment for armed robbery is one of strict application.
“Consequent thereupon on the foregoing, I find the defendant guilty of all the charges. Accordingly, the sentence of this court upon you is that you be hanged by the neck until you are dead. May God have mercy on your soul,” the judge pronounced.
According to the charge, Ayeni committed the offence on October 2, 2024, when he robbed the students of their phones – Infinix Smart 7, Itel A04, Infinix Smart 6, Samsung Galaxy S6 and Tecno Pop 8, all valued at N680,000 as at the time of the robbery.
“The offence is contrary to Section 312(2)(a) of the Criminal Laws of Ekiti State, 2021,” according to the charge.
In her testimony before the court, one of the victims, Moyinoluwa Adewale, said that she and her roommates were in their room at about 9.10pm when the armed robbery incident happened that fateful day.
She said, “We heard a knock on the door, and one of us went to open the door. Immediately, one man, who wore a lemon-coloured dress and short blue jeans, entered. He held a double-barrelled pistol. He commanded us to start submitting our phones.
“We initially thought it was a joke. He dipped his hand in his pocket and brought out some cartridges. He started fixing them into the gun and later pointed it at us. We submitted all our phones, and he packed everything. He told us to lock our door from the back and that we should not shout. We started shouting when he left,” she said.
The prosecutor, Salem Bade-Gboyega, called seven witnesses and tendered the defendant’s confessional statements, lemon-green hoodie cardigan, ATM cards and search warrant as exhibits.
The defendant, who spoke in his own defence through his lawyer, Amir Salami, called no witness but pleaded with the court to temper justice with mercy.
Credit: punchng.com
