An Osun High Court yesterday sentenced four persons to death for stealing a motorcycle popularly known as Okada in Osogbo.
The convicts, Joseph Moses, 24; Samuel Job, 19; Gideon Ode, 25 and Daniel Abraham, 24, were brought to the court on a four-count charge bordering on armed robbery and con­spiracy.
The prosecutor, Mrs Abdulrahman Temitope, had told the court that the convicts committed the offence on October 14, 2013 at about 8pm along Kajola Expressway, Osogbo.
Temitope said the con­victs conspired among themselves to rob one Abubakar Rauf of his motorcycle with regis­tration number BDG 896 QB.
”The suspects con­spired to attack the com­plainant with a knife and dangerous weapons col­lecting his motorcycle. They injured the com­plainant and also carted away his Bajaj motorcy­cle to their house before they were apprehended,” the prosecutor said.
Temitope said the crime committed had been a serial occurrence within the vicinity which had led to the death and missing of some persons.
The prosecutor said the offences contravened Section 6 and is punish­able under section 1 of the Robbery and Fire Arm (Special Provision) Cap R11, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004.
Counsel to the ac­cused, Mr Jimmy Jones, however, pleaded with the judge to tamper jus­tice with mercy in her judgment.
Delivering judg­ment, Justice Olubunmi Ayoola, sentenced the convicts to death due to the magnitude of their crime, adding that the prosecutor had proved her case beyond any rea­sonable doubt.-The Authority