By Jude-Ken Ojinnaka
A Lagos State High Court sitting in Ikeja will on November 14 sentence two defendants Clement Ododomu and Tiwei Monday who were found guilty and convicted for the offence of conspiracy and murder of seven officers of the Department of State Security (DSS) at Ishawo Creek of Ikorodu area of Lagos State on September 14, 2015
While delivering judgement on the criminal case of the two pipeline vandals, the trial judge Justice Hakeem Oshodi found both of them guilty but after listening to the allocutus (plea for mercy) by the convicts, deferred sentencing them till November 14.
The court found the first defendant, Clement Ododomu guilty of conspiracy to commit murder, murders, possession of firearms and felony, while the second defendant Tiwei Monday was found guilty of conspiracy to commit murder and felony.
The State government had averred that, on September 14, 2015, the Lagos State Command of DSS received a distress report from one Mr Nwosu from the Sun Newspaper about the kidnap of his wife at their residence.
The Command immediately dispatched a nine-man team to carry out a surveillance operation to ascertain the location of the kidnappers who were negotiating for a ransom.
However, in the evening one of the team members, Mr Martins Ajayi, sent a distress text message to the Station saying that they had been ambushed by vandals and their weapons had been seized.
The two suspects were thereafter arrested and were arraigned on a 10-count charge bordering on murder and possession of firearms contrary to Section 223 and 298 (3) of the Criminal Law, Cap. C. A Vol. 3, Laws of Lagos State 2015.
They had pleaded not guilty to all the counts charge and the prosecution commenced and concluded the trial of the duo.
Justice Oshodi in his judgment held that the claims by the defence that the defendants were in Lagos for the funeral service of their grandmother is a ruse because they failed to provide essential witnesses to corroborate their claims.
However, the court held that the prosecutor has not been able to prove the second defendant guilty of murder because the evidence before the court shows that it was one Agbala and the first defendant that killed the operatives.
Besides that, Justice Oshodi further held that the prosecutor was able to prove the culpability of the two defendants for felony, having participated in the ambush of the operatives.
The Judge said, ” Upon the proper evaluation of the evidence before the court, the convicts are discharged and acquitted on counts 2, 3, 4, 6 and 8 because the prosecutor was unable to prove the allegations against them.
He held that the prosecutor was able to prove that the first defendant, Ododomu, is guilty of counts 1, 5, 7, 9 and 10 which border on conspiracy to commit murder, murders, possession of firearms and felony, while the second defendant, Monday, is found guilty of counts 1 and 10 which border on conspiracy to commit murder and felony
After the court found and pronounced them guilty as charged, the defence counsel, Mr Olusegun Akande, in his allocutus prayed the court to temper justice with mercy in sentencing his clients.
Responding to the allocutus of the defence counsel, the prosecutor, Director of Public Prosecution (DPP), Dr Babajide Martin’s urged the court to sentence the convicts as prescribed by the section under which they were charged.
