An Osun State High Court sitting in Ede, has sentenced five men to death by hanging for the murder of a Fulani herder named Ibrahim Adamu.

The trial judge, Justice Kudirat Akano, handed down the sentence to the five men on Tuesday, June 2, 2024.

The five men, Ibrahim Issac, Lateef Bello, AbdulRamon Soliu, Bello Ibrahim, and Abudu Mumini Jolaanobi Saheed, were alleged to have abducted and murdered Adamu, who was selling cows at Owode-Ede, Osun State, before his death.

It was gathered that after Adamu’s abduction, he was taken to a secluded place in his Toyota Corolla car.

The victim was later killed despite paying a N3 million ransom after he identified one of the perpetrators of the crime.

The defendants were first arraigned before the court on October 28, 2021, for offenses bordering on conspiracy, kidnapping, and murder.

The charges pressed against the defendants were contrary to Sections 324, 319, and 364 of the Criminal Code Laws of Osun State.

The defendants all pleaded not guilty to the four counts brought against them by the state.

The lead prosecuting counsel from the Ministry of Justice, Moses Faremi, stated the facts during the trial, telling the court that the defendants abducted Adamu on April 17, 2018, around 7:45 p.m. at his residence located at Owode-Ede, Osun State.

When he appeared before the court, one of the prosecution witnesses, the Investigating Police Officer in charge of the matter, Ganiyu Taofeek, tendered exhibits including extrajudicial statements and a mask allegedly used by the defendants, which was dropped at the scene of the crime during the struggle between the perpetrators and the victim.

Taofeek also revealed that while Adamu was in the custody of the abductors, he identified one of the perpetrators, which led the gang to kill him.

In his words, “A member of the gang, Abudu Mumini, having realized that Adamu had identified one of them, directed other members of the gang, including three Togolese who are yet to be arrested, to slaughter the victim.

“After Adamu had been killed, Abdul Mumini went away with the head and heart, while Soliu, another member of the gang, took the deceased’s arms.

“The remains of the deceased were thereafter dumped inside the Osun River.

“Abudu Mumini, in his confessional statement, narrated in detail why the gang killed Adamu and how they shared the ransom they collected from the victim’s family.”

Addressing the court, the defense counsel, Bola Ige, argued that the charges pressed against the defendants had not been proved beyond reasonable doubt by the prosecuting counsel.

Delivering her judgment, Justice Akano found the five men guilty of all the counts brought against them and sentenced them to death by hanging.