The Court of Appeal in Ibadan has acquitted and discharged Dayo Akinola, overturning his 2019 conviction and death sentence for conspiracy and armed robbery after ruling that the evidence did not link him to the offences.
The Court of Appeal sitting in Ibadan has acquitted and discharged Dayo Akinola, overturning his conviction and death sentence for conspiracy and armed robbery.
Akinola had been convicted and sentenced to death by hanging by Justice O. Majekodunmi of the Ogun State High Court on May 8, 2019.
However, in a unanimous judgment delivered on Thursday, a three-member panel of the Court of Appeal set aside the decision of the lower court.
Delivering the lead judgment, Justice Fadawu Umar held that the prosecution failed to establish evidence linking the appellant to the offences of conspiracy and armed robbery.
“There was nothing to show or connect the appellant with the offences of conspiracy and armed robbery,” the appellate court ruled.
Justice Umar consequently declared that the judgment of the Ogun State High Court could not stand.
“The decision of the lower court is set aside, and the appellant is acquitted and discharged,” he said.
The judge added that the sole issue raised for determination in the appeal was resolved in favour of Akinola and against the respondent.
Justice Umar also criticised the quality of police investigations in criminal cases, stressing the need for more thorough investigative procedures.
According to him, law enforcement agencies often rely heavily on conventional statements without carrying out comprehensive investigations capable of establishing the facts of a case.
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