An Ekiti State High Court, Ado Ekiti Division, on Thursday, sentenced two graduates to 30 years imprisonment, made up of 15 years each, for kidnapping a student at the Federal University Oye Ekiti.
The defendants, Ojo Babajide (31) and Olajide Nathaniel (35), who were fresh graduates when they committed the offences in 2022, are to spend 10 years each in prison for kidnapping and five years each for conspiracy
They were arraigned in court on July 19, 2022, for conspiracy and kidnapping.
The charge read, “That the defendants (now convicts) on March 23, 2022, at Oye Ekiti, did conspire to kidnap one Atana Emmanuel.
“The offences contravened Sections 280 and 279 of the Criminal Law of Ekiti State, 2021”, it added.
In his statement to the police, the victim, who said he was a student of FUOYE and as well hair salon operator, said, “I was in a shop around 7 pm, the defendants moved towards me and ordered me into a waiting car. I initially refused, but I was forced to do their bidding.
“I was first taken to an unknown destination in Oye Ekiti, and I later found myself in a hotel along Ikere Road in Ado Ekiti. They made me pay for lodging in the hotel room through mobile transfer.
“They asked me to call my relatives to pay a ransom of N1m for my release. Through phone calls, I was able to raise N101,000.
“When they knew the money was not forthcoming, they ordered me to remove all my clothes, and they flogged me with horsewhip.
I sustained serious bruises all over my body before I was later released,” he said.
The prosecutor, Kunle-Shina Adeyemo, called one witness and tendered the victim’s and defendants’ statements and bond to release as exhibits while the defendants spoke through their lawyer, Akinola Abon, who pleaded with the court to temper justice with mercy, as the defendants were fresh graduates preparing to go for their National Youth Service Corps programme. They called three witnesses.
In his judgement, Justice Adeniyi Familoni, who found the defendants guilty, said the incidents of kidnapping in our communities appeared unabated despite genuine and concerted efforts being made to curb the vice.
He said the defendants willingly but unwisely “chose to join the vice train”; therefore, cannot escape the consequences.
“In this vein, they deserve more than a slap on the wrist as the penal sanction for their misdeed to serve as a deterrent to others.
“Consequently, they are both sentenced to five years imprisonment for conspiracy and 10 years imprisonment each for kidnapping without answering an option of fine.
“The sentences are to run concurrently with effect from May 21, 2025”, the judge pronounced.
