By Onoriode Etatsemi
The Effurun High Court I, in Uvwie Local Government Area of Delta State has convicted and sentenced two men, Emmanuel Ruekpe and Peter Okoro to death by hanging on two count charges of conspiracy and armed robbery.
The Court presided over by Honourable Justice E. I Oritsejafor delivered its judgement on April 25, 2023.
The two defendants according to the nominal, complainant Mr Ode Odera Gabriel, boarded his bike on the 24th of September, 2016 at Otu-Jeremi junction that they were going to Owhawa town of which he charged them the sum of ₦400 and they agreed to pay
According to him , in the course of the journey , the 2nd defendant after he came from a compound at Oghoir in Udu Local Government Area where he claimed to see his elder brother, stopped the bikeman claiming that his face cap fell down and wanted to pick it before he broke cocoa cola bottle and in a bid to avoid being stabbed, the nominal complainant ran away.
The normal complainant (bikeman) recognized the first defendant whom he knew as a local dancer and he subsequently reported the matter to the Oghoir vigilante Chairman which eventually led to the arrest of both of them at the Ovwian Police Station.
Delivering his judgement after careful examination of available evidence, Justice E. I Oritsejafor noted that the prosecution presented an overwhelming evidence which he said, was sufficient to discharge the burden of proof on the case .
Reacting to the judgement, the prosecution , Mr. Ezeana Ejiofor who is a Deputy Director in the state Ministry of Justice, expressed satisfaction with the judgement and appealed to judicial authorities in the country to consider the abolition of death sentence and replace it with alternative life Imprisonment.
Mr Ejiofor advised young people to shun anything illegal and be patient and as well work hard to achieve success and never to get involve in any form of crime that could possibly cut short their life and take their freedom, dreams and aspirations away from them.
Mr Ejiofor appealed to Government to recognize the honour, dignity and straight forward disposition of the father of the second defendant who on his own admitted to the authorities that he saw his son with a bike which fits the description of the stolen motorbike and subsequently took his son to the police station.
He averred that after the court passed the sentence on the second defendant, the relations and friends of the father will condemn his actions and berate him for taking him to the station which will deter other honourable and good persons in the society from speaking out against criminality.
The State Counsel added further that the father of the second defendant be invited and publicly honoured and presented with an award so as to encourage other people to follow his good example and speak against criminality and evil in the society which will in turn make our society a better place.
He said that the defendants were charged to court on two count charges bothering on conspiracy to commit armed robbery, punishable under section 1(2) (a) of the Robbery and Firearms (special provision) Act , cap R.II, volume 14 law of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
