Murtala Ibrahim
An Edo State Special Criminal Court has sentenced four people to death over their involvement in the kidnapping of a woman at the Vegetable Market area off Airport Road in Benin City.
Justice Aigbona Momodu delivered the judgment on an 11-count charge involving kidnapping, conspiracy, armed robbery, cultism and unlawful possession of firearms.
The convicts are three men and one woman identified as Marvellous Isaac, 32; Wisdom Michael, 36; Rufus Emete Michael, 30; and Gift Raphael, 27.
According to the court, the offences were connected to the abduction of a woman who was at the market with her husband and children when armed men reportedly took her away.
The incident was later confirmed by the Edo State Police Command.
The court imposed death sentences on the four defendants on several of the counts.
They also received additional prison sentences on other counts.
Isaac, Michael, Michael and Raphael were each sentenced to seven years imprisonment on one of the counts, while several other counts attracted the death penalty.
The court also ordered that firearms and ammunition tendered as exhibits be confiscated and handed over to the Edo State Police Command for destruction.
The exhibits included a pump-action rifle, two unexpended cartridges and two expended cartridges.
The case was handled by the Edo State Special Criminal Court, which was established to deal with kidnapping and cultism-related cases.
The judgment comes amid continued concerns over kidnapping and violent crime in parts of Edo State.
The court’s decision represents the outcome of a criminal trial in which the defendants were convicted on the charges brought against them.
The death sentences remain subject to Nigeria’s applicable legal procedures before any execution can take place.
Yaro Insider
