On Monday, the Ado Ekiti Division of the High Court of Ekiti sentenced Gabriel Emmanuel, a 25-year-old man, to kidnap the monarch, Oba Adeniran Benjamin Omotayo, the state Eleda of Eda-ile in the state.
Emmanuel was arraigned on March 8, 2023, with the charge threatened in M8rder, kidnapped and demanding property with intent to steal and committed crimes in 2020 and 2021.
The allegation said: “On September 13, 2020, Gabriel Emmanuel and others on a wide range, on the Umesi quarter at Igirigiri Road in Odo-Ado Ekiti, did make a Jejelowo Fesobi David.
“That was on June 24, 2020, in Emk, where Nid Kid Hetyap creations were reinstalled, Adimumin Benjamin Obout.
“On November 20, 2021, the defendants and others of Ilumoba Ekiti did ask for threatened N4M payments from a barrister, Joseph Olorunfemi.
“These crimes are contrary to Sections 319(1) and 316 of the Criminal Law Act. C16, the laws of Ekiti State, Article 3 of the Kidnapping and Terrorism (Prohibition) Law in 2012 and Ekiti State, 2015,” the charge reads.
In a statement to police, Oba Adeniran said of his kidnapping on the farm.
“Suddenly, I saw some men, all holding AK-47 rifles. Before I knew what was going on, one of them pointed the gun at me and I was kidnapped. My wife, who was with me at the time, was released and instructed to go find money or they would kill me,” said the traditional ruler.
“I was captured for four days, and then one of my brothers brought a ransom of 128 million n128m. When I was with them, they contacted my relatives using my wife’s phone. Once, the cell phone battery was flat, so they called a person with a battery. I couldn’t see his face because he was covered up, but I was able to identify the kidnappers because they deleted the masks whenever they wanted to smoke.
“After release, I went to the Nigerian Police Department’s Quick Response Squad in Ado Ekiti and gave a formal report.”
Prosecutor Ibironke Odetola summoned four witnesses and presented the defendant’s statements, the victim’s statements, and the number of prints of the call logs, among other exhibitions.
However, the defendant represented by his attorney Ag Anofi did not call any witnesses.
Judge Adekunle Adeleye said in his judgment: “The evidence of the complainant witness confirms the telephone log, and the content of the defendant’s confession statement is consistent with the facts established by the prosecutor’s witness. These statements were voluntarily issued by the defendant.
“In general, I found that the complainant had established elements of the offences of kidnapping and claiming property and intended to steal. He was convicted and convicted.
“The defendant was sentenced to life imprisonment for the crime of kidnapping. He was also sentenced to three years in prison for demanding theft of threatened property,” the judge said.
