An Ekiti State High Court has sentenced two men to death by hanging after finding them guilty of kidnapping a staff member of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC).
The convicts, Ibrahim Abubakar and Abdullahi Abubakar, were prosecuted following their arrest by the Department of State Services (DSS) over the abduction of Mrs. Omoboade Adesina, an NYSC staff member, on April 22, 2022, in Ekiti State.
Delivering judgment, the Chief Judge of Ekiti State, Justice Lekan Ogunmoye, held that the prosecution proved its case beyond reasonable doubt and consequently sentenced the two defendants to death by hanging.
A third defendant, Usman Abubakar, was discharged and acquitted after the court ruled that there was insufficient evidence linking him to the crime.
Justice Ogunmoye commended the DSS prosecution team for its diligent investigation and successful prosecution of the case. He noted that critical evidence, including an identification parade conducted by the DSS and the analysis of call data records, played a decisive role in securing the conviction.
The case stemmed from the kidnapping of Mrs. Adesina on April 22, 2022. Following investigations by the DSS, the suspects were apprehended and arraigned before the court, culminating in Thursday’s judgment.