Following a watertight prosecution, an Osun State High Court seals the conviction of a 30-year-old man, sentencing him to death by hanging for murder.
An Osun State High Court sitting in Ile-Ife on Friday sentenced a 30-year-old man, Agboola Taiwo, to death by hanging.
The severe judicial ruling officially seals the criminal conviction of the defendant for the gruesome murder of a 62-year-old woman, Jadesola Olubayo, which occurred on October 11, 2023, at a local palm oil processing hub situated near the Amula River in Olokemeji Village, Ifetedo, within the Ife South Local Government Area.
Delivering the definitive judgment, the presiding judge, Justice Adedapo Adeniji, held that the prosecution team successfully proved its criminal case against the accused beyond any reasonable doubt. Consequently, the court found the defendant fully guilty, sentencing the convict to 14 years’ imprisonment for attempted rape (Count I), two years’ imprisonment for indecent assault (Count II), and the ultimate penalty of death by hanging for the count of murder (Count III).
Reviewing the harrowing facts of the case, the prosecution counsel, Omotayo Babalola of the state Ministry of Justice, had earlier informed the court that the deceased originally went to the processing facility alongside her young granddaughter, Latifat Adeyemo, to manufacture palm oil. The site owner, Ajibade Bashiru, subsequently left the duo at the venue to attend to his nearby commercial farm.
According to the prosecutor, the convict arrived shortly afterward, stripped himself completely naked, and began causing panic. As the elderly woman and her granddaughter desperately attempted to flee the vicinity, Taiwo gave chase and quickly overpowered the victim.
Although the granddaughter successfully ran to Bashiru’s farm to secure emergency help, the convict had already stripped the elderly woman and brutally killed her by repeatedly smashing her face with a heavy stone and a stick before they could return.
The victim was discovered lying in a pool of blood, while the attacker fled the scene, only to be apprehended by locals nearby and handed over to the police. Babalola noted that the violent offenses directly contravened Sections 319, 359, and 360 of the Criminal Code, Cap. 34, Vol. II, Laws of Osun State, 2002.
Despite intense pleas for leniency by defense counsels Oluwaseun Akintola-Philip-Idiok and Victoria Ugochi-Layi-Jacob, Justice Adeniji rejected the application, affirming that the weight of the conviction demanded the absolute application of the law.
Visit GMTNewsng for more news stories.