Court sentences 2 graduates to 30 years in prison for kidnapping

Justice has caught up with two young men in Ekiti State, as the Ado Ekiti Division of the High Court on Thursday sentenced them to a total of 30 years imprisonment for kidnapping a student of the Federal University Oye Ekiti (FUOYE).

The convicts, Ojo Babajide (31) and Olajide Nathaniel (35), were fresh university graduates when they committed the crime in 2022. They were first arraigned on July 19, 2022, on charges of kidnapping and conspiracy.

Delivering judgment, the court handed each of them 15 years imprisonment—10 years for kidnapping and 5 years for conspiracy. The sentences are to run concurrently, meaning each will serve a total of 15 years behind bars.

The charge read, “That the defendants (now convicts) on 23rd March 2022 at Oye Ekiti did conspire to kidnap one Atana Emmanuel.

“The offences contravened sections 280 and 279 of the Criminal Law of Ekiti State, 2021”, it added.

In his statement to the police, the victim, who said he was a student of FUOYE and as well hair salon operator, said, “I was in shop around 7pm, the defendants moved towards me and ordered me into a waiting car. I initially refused, but I was forced to do their bidding.

“I was first taken to an unknown destination in Oye Ekiti, and I later found myself in a hotel along Ikere Road in Ado Ekiti. They made me pay for lodging in the hotel room through mobile transfer.

“They asked me to call my relatives to pay a ransom of one million naira for my release. Through phone calls, I was able to raise N101,000.

“When they knew the money was not forthcoming, they ordered me to remove all my clothes, and they flogged me with horsewhip. I sustained serious bruises all over my body before I was later released”, he said.

The prosecutor, Kunle-Shina Adeyemo called one witness and tendered the victim’s and defendants’ statements and bond to release as exhibits while the defendants spoke through their lawyer, Akinola Abon, who pleaded with the court to temper justice with mercy, as the defendants were fresh graduates preparing to go for their National Youth Service Corps. They called three witnesses.

In his judgement, Justice Adeniyi Familoni, who found the defendants guilty, said, the incidents of kidnapping in our communities appear unabated despite genuine and concerted efforts being made to curb the vice.

The defendants willingly but unwisely choose to join the vice train; therefore, they cannot escape the consequences.

“In this vein, they deserve more than a slap on the wrist as the penal sanction for their misdeed to serve as a deterrent to others.

“Consequently, they are both sentenced to five years imprisonment for conspiracy and 10 years’ imprisonment each for kidnapping without answering option of fine.

“The sentences are to run concurrently with effect from 21st May, 2025”, the judge pronounced.