Ekiti court sentences two men to death for kidnapping NYSC staff

An Ekiti State High Court has sentenced two men to death by hanging after finding them guilty of kidnapping a National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) member, Omoboade Adesina.

The convicts, Ibrahim Abubakar and Abdullahi Abubakar, were prosecuted following their arrest by operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS) over the abduction, which occurred on April 22, 2022.

Delivering judgment, the Chief Judge of Ekiti State, Justice Lekan Ogunmoye, held that the prosecution had proved its case against Ibrahim and Abdullahi Abubakar beyond reasonable doubt.

Justice Ogunmoye subsequently sentenced the two men to death by hanging.

The judge commended the prosecution team of the DSS for its diligence in investigating and prosecuting the case.

He identified the identification parade conducted by the DSS and the analysis of call data records as crucial pieces of evidence that assisted the court in reaching its decision.

“The prosecution successfully established the guilt of the first and second defendants beyond reasonable doubt,” the judge held.

However, the court discharged and acquitted the third defendant, Usman Abubakar, after ruling that the prosecution failed to prove his involvement in the offence.

The conviction is the latest in a series of successful prosecutions secured by the DSS in cases involving kidnapping, terrorism, and other related offences across the country.

The agency recently secured convictions in separate cases involving terrorism, cross-border arms trafficking, and kidnapping in Sokoto and Kogi states.