By Oluwadamilola Akinduro

An Ondo State High Court sitting in Akure has sentenced a mechanic, Abiodun Olasile, to ten years imprisonment for illegal possession of firearms.

The convict was however discharged and acquitted of charges bordering on murder, conspiracy, and cultism.

Delivering the judgment, Justice William Olamide held that while the prosecution failed to establish the offences of murder, cultism and conspiracy beyond a reasonable doubt, but successfully proved the offence of illegal possession of firearms.

Olasile was arraigned on a four-count charge and was accused of conspiring with others to commit murder, engaging in cult-related activities, and illegally possessing firearms between 2017 and 2022.

He pleaded not guilty to all charges.

To prove his case, the prosecution, led by Olusegun Akeredolu, called several witnesses and tendered the confessional statements made by the defendant and another suspect, Dele Sunday,

However, the defendant lawyer, Akintola Makinde, denied the allegations and told the court that his client was tortured and forced to sign the statements, saying that the defendant was not its author.

Makinde submitted that the prosecution failed to establish any element of murder, arguing that no complaint was made to Amotekun Corps regarding a murder case and that the Corps did not even exist in 2017 when the alleged offence took place.

He added that the police, to whom the defendant was handed over, never produced any investigation report indicting him for murder.

in his ruling Justice Olamide held that the charge clearly disclosed the offence of cultism and that the particulars merely explained the facts. He disagreed with the defence counsel’s submission that the offence was unknown to law.

The court also ruled on the admissibility of the confessional statements, which the defence had challenged for not complying with Section 10(3) of the Ondo State Administration of Criminal Justice Law (ACJL).

The judge noted that the prosecution had explained that the absence of video evidence was due to technical failure, and upheld the admissibility of the statements.

Justice Makinde held that there was no convincing evidence that anyone else was involved in the crime, and since the firearm was found solely with the defendant, others could not be indicted for conspiracy. The court therefore discharged and acquitted the defendant on the count of conspiracy.

However, on Count 4, which bordered on illegal possession of firearms, the court held that the prosecution succeeded.

The judge observed that the discrepancies in the testimonies were not fatal to the case. Consequently, Olasile was convicted and sentenced to ten years imprisonment.

“The sentence is to run from the date of the defendant’s arrest,” the Judge held.