By Precious Owolabi, Ado-Ekiti

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Justice Lekan Olatawura of the Ekiti State High Court, sitting in Ado-Ekiti, has sentenced 26-year-old David Isaiah to death by hanging for conspiracy, kidnapping, and murder.

The convict was arraigned before Justice Olatawura on April 18, 2024, on a three-count charge of conspiracy, kidnapping, and murder.

According to the prosecutor, the offences are contrary to Sections 280, 279(a), and 234 of the Criminal Law of Ekiti State, 2021.

The charge stated that the defendant and Savior Daniel, who died during the pendency of the case on February 6, 2024, in Ado-Ekiti, within the jurisdiction of the Honourable Court, conspired to kidnap and murder one Comfort James, a commercial sex worker.

In his testimony before the court, the Director of Afrika Brothel, Irona, Ado-Ekiti, said: “I was called by other commercial sex workers in the brothel that they had not seen the deceased since the previous day. They also said she had called to inform them that she had been kidnapped, her hands were tied, and the kidnappers were demanding a ransom of N100,000.

“I went and reported the matter at the police station and later at the Civil Defence office. Their telephone lines were tracked, and the suspects were later arrested. They took the Civil Defence officers to the location where they had killed and dumped her body,” he concluded.

To prove the case, the prosecutor, Ibironke Odetola, called six witnesses and tendered the defendant’s statements, pictures of the deceased, a warrant to bury the corpse, a pair of slippers, SIM cards, and herbicide as exhibits.

The defendant, who spoke in his own defence, told the court that after having sex with the deceased, they used her number to call her colleagues, claiming that she had been kidnapped and demanding a ransom of N100,000.

He stated that when the ransom was not forthcoming, they tied her hands and neck. Realising she had seen their faces and could implicate them, they poured herbicide into her mouth, which led to her death. He called no witnesses.

In his judgment, Justice Olatawura said: “I therefore find that the prosecution has proven beyond reasonable doubt that the defendant conspired with his late friend (Savior Daniel) to kidnap and murder Comfort James. Consequently, the defendant is found guilty as charged.

“Any sympathetic consideration in favour of the defendant cannot be justified by the circumstances surrounding the death of the deceased.”

Consequently, the defendant was sentenced to 21 years’ imprisonment for conspiracy, life imprisonment for kidnapping, and for murder, the judgment of the court is that he be hanged by the neck until he is dead.