Two graduates jailed 15 years each without option of fine, to serve as a deterrent to others
By Jeph Ajobaju, Chief Copy Editor
Two graduates have been jailed 15 years each (a total 30 years) for kidnapping a student of Federal University, Oye Ekiti (FUOYE), 13 years after they were first arraigned for conspiracy and kidnapping.
An Ado Ekiti High Court ruled that Ojo Babajide, 31, and Olajide Nathaniel, 35, who were fresh graduates when they committed the offences in 2022, are to spend 10 years each in prison for kidnapping and five years each for conspiracy.
They were arraigned in court on 19 July 2022.
The charge read: “That the defendants [now convicts] on March 23, 2022, at Oye Ekiti, did conspire to kidnap one Atana Emmanuel.
“The offences contravened Sections 280 and 279 of the Criminal Law of Ekiti State, 2021.
In his statement to the police, Atana, who said he was a student of FUOYE and a hair salon operator, said: “I was in a shop around 7pm, the defendants moved towards me and ordered me into a waiting car. I initially refused, but I was forced to do their bidding.
“I was first taken to an unknown destination in Oye Ekiti, and I later found myself in a hotel along Ikere Road in Ado Ekiti. They made me pay for lodging in the hotel room through mobile transfer.
“They asked me to call my relatives to pay a ransom of N1m for my release. Through phone calls, I was able to raise N101,000.
“When they knew the money was not forthcoming, they ordered me to remove all my clothes, and they flogged me with a horsewhip. I sustained serious bruises all over my body before I was later released.”
During trial, prosecutor Kunle-Shina Adeyemo called one witness and tendered as exhibits the victim’s and defendants’ statements and bond to release.
Defence lawyer Akinola Abon pleaded with the court to temper justice with mercy, saying the defendants were fresh graduates preparing to go for their National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) programme.
The defendants called three witnesses.
Judge Adeniyi Familoni found the defendants guilty, noting that kidnapping in communities appears unabated despite genuine and concerted efforts to curb the menace.
He said the defendants willingly but unwisely “chose to join the vice train”; therefore, they cannot escape the consequences.
“In this vein, they deserve more than a slap on the wrist as the penal sanction for their misdeed to serve as a deterrent to others,” the Judge added.
“Consequently, they are both sentenced to five years imprisonment for conspiracy and 10 years imprisonment each for kidnapping without answering an option of fine.
“The sentences are to run concurrently with effect from May 21, 2025.”
Read also:
