Justice Fatimah Sodamade, who delivered the judgment on Thursday, held that the prosecution proved its case beyond reasonable doubt and convicted the defendants accordingly.
Three men, Muideen Tunji, Yusuf Musulimi and Rabiu Fatai, have been sentenced to death by hanging by an Osun State High Court sitting in Iwo after they were found guilty of conspiracy, murder and unlawful possession of human parts.
Justice Fatimah Sodamade, who delivered the judgment on Thursday, held that the prosecution proved its case beyond reasonable doubt and convicted the defendants accordingly.
The judge said the ruling should serve as a deterrent to others who might engage in similar criminal acts.
Earlier, the prosecution counsel from the Ministry of Justice, Dele Akintayo, told the court that the convicts committed the offence on January 31, 2022, at Ile-Ogbo in Osun State.
Akintayo said one of the convicts lured the deceased, identified as Asiata Yekeen, to his residence under the pretext of paying her a debt.
According to him, the other two convicts later joined him, and the trio conspired to kill her.
The prosecution added that attempts by the victim’s family and operatives of the Amotekun Corps to locate her were unsuccessful until an eyewitness who saw her entering the convicts’ apartment reported the matter to the police.
Akintayo further told the court that the suspects fled to evade arrest but were later tracked and apprehended by a police intelligence team.
He said the offences contravened Sections 324, 319(a) and 329A(1) of the Criminal Code, Cap. 34, Vol. II, Laws of Osun State, 2002.
Counsel to the defendants, J. Olaniyan, Adesina Olaniyan and Bayo Alade, urged the court to dismiss the charges, arguing that the prosecution’s evidence was hearsay.
Justice Sodamade, however, rejected the defence arguments and upheld the death sentence for the three convicts.
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