The Lagos State High Court sitting in Ikeja has sentenced a Lagos prince, Adewale Oyekan, and one Lateef Balogun to death for killing one Sikirat Ekun, a 62-year-old businesswoman and a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
Adewale is the son of Oba Adeyinka Oyekan, the Oba of Lagos who passed away on March 1, 2003.
He hired Balogun for N6,000 to murder Ekun.
The 50-year-old prince and his 27-year-old accomplice who is a former domestic staff had been in custody for seven years. They murdered Ekun by strangling her and throwing her corpse into a 1,000-feet well located in her home.
While convicting and sentencing the defendants in a two-hour judgement on Monday, Justice Raliatu Adebiyi said that the prosecution had proved the charges of conspiracy to commit murder and murder beyond a reasonable doubt. Both pleaded not guilty to the crime.
“The circumstantial evidence was strong and cogent; the act of the defendants in killing the deceased was intentional and premeditated.
“The court finds that the prosecution has proved beyond reasonable doubt the offence of conspiracy and murder and are accordingly found guilty of the two-count charge.
“Section 221 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State 2011 stipulates the punishment for the offence of murder as follows:
“Subject to the provisions of any other law, a person who commits the offence of murder shall be sentenced to death. Same is the punishment for conspiracy to commit murder as contained in Section 231 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State 2011,” she held.
Justice Adebiyi noted that the provisions of the law she cited do not give the court any discretion whatsoever in sentencing the defendants.
“For this reason, the first and second defendants are hereby sentenced accordingly on each of count one and two to death by hanging. May God the giver of life have mercy on your soul,” she added.
The leader of the prosecution team, Akin George, explained that the convicts committed the offense in the deceased’s Omole Phase 1 resident, at about 1am, 17th October, 2012.
He stated that the deceased was a restauranteur who knew Oyekan due to her friendship with his late mother and employed him as the manager of her restaurant just to render assistance to the prince.
The trial at the State High Court began on April 14, 2015. Five witnesses including police officers, Ekun’s nephew, Iyiola Olaniyi, and her only child, Mrs Folashade Amurun, testified against the convicts.
On the other hand, Oyekan and Balogun testified in their defence.
Giving their testimonies, both convicts denied knowing each other, noting that they met for the first time at the police station.
(C) Control TV 2019.
