According to The Nation, it was reported that on January 30, 2013, Segun Olowookere, then 22 years old, and Sunday Morakinyo, aged 21, were arraigned before Justice Sakariyah Falola of the Osun State High Court in Ikirun. The case, identified as suit number HKK/2C/2012, involved eight charges of conspiracy, armed robbery, and stealing. Both defendants pleaded not guilty to the charges brought against them by the state prosecutor, Barrister Biola Adewemimo.
According to the charges, in November 2010, the two men conspired to rob several individuals in the Oyan community of Okuku Local Government Area in Osun State. One of their victims, Mr. Oguntade Faramade, was robbed of his fowls and eggs worth ₦20,000. They also robbed another victim, Balogun Taye, of two mobile phones and ₦5,000.
Additionally, the duo attempted to rob Alhaja Umani Oyewo at her house and were accused of robbing Elizabeth Dare of a gallon of vegetable oil. They used weapons, including cutlasses and a Dane gun, during these incidents.
The prosecutor stated that between April and November 2010, the two men stole fowls valued at ₦30,000 and committed several other robberies in the area.
Six witnesses testified against them during the trial. The prosecution presented 11 pieces of evidence, including four cutlasses, a female head net used as a mask, a Dane gun, two DVD players, four kegs of vegetable oil, and the defendants’ confessional statements, all of which were accepted as evidence by the court.
In his confessional statement, the convict, Olowookere, said, “In the evening of 10/10/2010 when the PDP wanted to do the primary election of councillors, one of my friends, Adepoju Siju, visited me at my home and told me that he wanted to visit his girlfriend, Tosin who is a daughter of one Alhaja. He said he would be sleeping in my house at night because I am the only one living in a six-bedroom flat.
“When it was 8 0′ clock in the night, my friend, Adepoju, called me on the phone. He said I should help him to call one Sunday and his group to my house for a business. I delivered the message to the boys and they followed me obediently to my house.”
Further talking, he said, “On getting to my house, Adepoju told the boys that we were all going to guard one counsellor till the following morning.When it was midnight, Adepoju called all of us together and said that we were going to the house of Alhaja, the mother of his girlfriend, to rob her of a certain amount of money.He said Tosin, Alhaja’s daughter, would open the door for us when we got there because he had arranged with her.When it was exactly 12 midnight, we left my house.”
He added that they went to Alhaja’s house to rob her, as Siju Adepoju was armed with cutlass, while other suspects carried iron rod and sticks, but he claimed he did not hold anything during the operation, as he went to the place empty-handed.
During the trial, the victims of Olowookere, Morakinyo, and five others, which included Alhaja Oyewo, Elizabeth Dare, Oguntade Faramade, and three policemen named Alaba Samson, Ogunniyi Emmanuel, and Ilyasu Maruf, gave testimony against them.
However, Barrister Ayo Omolosho, who was the lawyer for the defense, argued against the prosecution’s claims. He pointed out that his clients were not caught at the scene of the crimes and that the prosecution did not prove their case beyond a reasonable doubt.
Olowookere and his father denied committing the crime, while Morakinyo claimed that he was mentally unfit to challenge the prosecution’s evidence.
During the prosecution’s case, confessions from Olowookere, Morakinyo, Ojo Dare, and Dare Sunday revealed that a person named Adepoju Siju had encouraged them to commit the crimes of armed robbery and theft at the home of Alhaja Oyewo and other victims in the area.
When delivering his judgment, Justice Falola found them guilty of conspiracy, robbery with firearms, armed robbery, and theft. However, he dismissed charges 2, 4, 5, and 7 against them because he noted that the prosecution had failed to prove those counts beyond a reasonable doubt.
He sentenced them to death and life imprisonment for the crime of conspiracy to commit armed robbery and robbery with firearms.
Additionally, he sentenced them to three years in prison for the charge of theft.CONTINUE FULL READING>>>>>
