A man, Clement Ododomu has been sentenced to death by hanging for killing seven officers of the Department of State Services, DSS by the High Court sitting in Ikeja, Lagos.
Justice Hakeem Oshodi gave the judgment on Tuesday, and also handed a 16-year jail term to Mr Tiwei Monday.
According to the prosecutor, the convicts committed the offences on September 14, 2015, in Ishawo Creek, Ikorodu, Lagos.
Both Ododomu and Monday were arraigned on a 10-count charge bordering on conspiracy to commit murder, murder and illegal possession of firearms, which contravened Section 223 and 298 (3) of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015.
The state government prosecutor said that the DSS received a distress call from an editor of SUN newspaper (name withheld) on September 14, 2015, informing the security agency of the kidnap of his wife at their residence.
Acting upon the information, the state command of the DSS dispatched a nine-man team to carry out surveillance to ascertain the location of the kidnappers who were already negotiating for a ransom.
Later in the day, one of the officers, Martins Ajayi, sent a distress text message to the command headquarters, saying that the men had been ambushed by vandals who also seized their weapons.
Responding to the charges under cross-examination, the defendants pleaded not guilty to the crime, submitting that they were in Lagos to attend the burial of their grandmother.
But delivering the judgment, the presiding judge held that the defence failed to provide essential witnesses to corroborate the claim, adding that the defendants did not show remorse for their crimes.
“The court has considered the allocutus of the defence counsel, but the position of the law is binding to us all. As noted, the first defendant was convicted on counts one, five, seven, nine and ten, while the second defendant was convicted on counts one and ten,” the judge said.
Justice Oshodi held that although the prosecution was able to prove that the two defendants participated in the ambush of the DSS operatives. He said they however failed to prove the case of murder against the second defendant, adding that the evidence before the court showed that it was one Agbala and the first defendant who committed the murder.
The judge therefore discharged and acquitted the convicts on counts two, three, four, six and eight because the prosecution was unable to prove the allegations against them.
“The court has observed the demeanour of the defendants and concluded that they felt no remorse regarding the allegations they were facing. They informed the court that they did not understand English, whereas, in the recording, they both were conversing in English.
“The first and second defendants are hereby sentenced to imprisonment for 14 years for count 10 and the first and second defendants are hereby sentenced to imprisonment for two years for count 9.
“The first defendant is hereby sentenced to imprisonment for 20 years. The terms of imprisonment for both defendants will run concurrently. For count five and seven, which the court has found the first defendant guilty of, the sentence of the court upon you is that you be hanged by the neck until you are dead and may God have mercy on your soul,” Mr Oshodi stated.
Alleluia is the Assistant Editor and Content Writer at LagosPost.ng. She is a prolific writer and editor, she has written features and news stories on Lifestyle, Sports, Business, Politics and B2B marketing. She is also an event coordinator, host and social media content creator.
