Ekiti Court Hands 25-Year Jail Terms to Kidnappers After Shocking Farm Attack and Ransom Case

(High Court. Photo Credit: Daily Nigerian)

An Ekiti State High Court in Ado Ekiti has sentenced two men to 25 years imprisonment each for kidnapping.

The defendants, Ibrahim Abubakar and Abdulahi Abubakar, were among four persons originally arraigned before Justice Lekan Ogunmoye in October 2022 on charges of conspiracy, murder and kidnapping.

A fourth defendant, Abdulazeez Alebiosu, died during the course of the trial.

The charges stemmed from incidents that occurred in March and April 2022. According to the case, the defendants conspired to murder one Taiwo Adesina, a farmer who was shot in the head when gunmen invaded his farm.

He was rushed to the Ekiti State University Teaching Hospital where he was pronounced dead on arrival.

Shortly after, his wife, who was an NYSC staff member in the state, visited the farm with her son and brother-in-law to assess the situation.

Gunmen stormed the property, jumped over the fence and dragged her out before taking her away on a motorcycle to an unknown location.

Her phone was used to demand a ransom of 10 million naira, though her relatives were only able to raise and pay 3.25 million naira.

She later identified some of her captors when they were paraded by the police.

In his judgment, Justice Ogunmoye discharged and acquitted the second defendant, Usman Abubakar, after the victim made no mention of him in her testimony.

The court also discharged all defendants on the conspiracy and murder counts, finding that the prosecution had not proven those charges beyond reasonable doubt.

However, Ibrahim Abubakar and Abdulahi Abubakar were found guilty of kidnapping and sentenced to 25 years imprisonment each.