A Kwara State High Court has sentenced three mechanics to death by hanging for the murder of fellow artisan, Saheed Lawal, in the Offa Local Government Area of the state.
The convicts, Isiaka Jimoh, Lekan Ahmed, and Adebayo Saheed, were sentenced after being found guilty of culpable homicide for torturing Lawal to death over allegations of motor oil theft.
The trio, prosecuted by the state’s Ministry of Justice, faced a two-count charge bordering on conspiracy and culpable homicide, an offence punishable by death under Section 221 of the Penal Code, CAP. P4, Laws of the state.
During the trial on Thursday, the prosecuting counsel, led by the Director of Public Prosecutions, Ayoola Akande, told the court that the convicts committed the crime on November 5, 2020, at a mechanic workshop near Government Day Secondary School, Amuyo, Offa.
Akande also revealed that the convicts had attempted to murder another artisan, Hamzat Ibrahim, by pouring scalding hot pepper into his ears.
In his judgment, Justice Adebayo Yusuf found the prosecution’s case to be convincing beyond a reasonable doubt, citing the testimony of eight witnesses, including Dr. O.M. Abdulsalam, the Chief Medical Director of the State General Hospital in Offa. Dr. Abdulsalam testified that the victim, Lawal, was pronounced dead upon arrival at the hospital.
“From the evidence before the court, the three defendants were responsible for the death of Saheed Lawal, who was their colleague at the same workshop in Offa,” Justice Yusuf stated.
He thereafter sentenced the convicts to death by hanging, stating, “The three defendants are to die by hanging until they breathe their last. May God have mercy on their souls.”
