ONDO STATE:Â James Ofem, a notorious armed robber has been sentenced to death by the Ondo State High Court sitting in Akure.
The armed robber who is to die by hanging was said to be part of a notorious and deadly armed robbery gang terrorizing motorists on the ever busy Ondo/Ore highway.
The presiding judge, Justice Williams Olamide who gave the judgement stated that the accused was found guilty of the two-count charge of conspiracy and armed robbery preferred against him.
Justice Olamide said that the witnesses made allusions to the use of arms in the armed robbery attack. The Justice added that the prosecution had proved its case beyond reasonable doubt.
He consequently held that the accused person was indeed guilty of the crime.
Earlier, the prosecution witness, Wale Bamisile of the Department of Public Prosecution, Ondo State Ministry of Justice had informed the court that on the 12th July, 2017, Ofem conspired with his cohorts and robbed one Adamu Mustapha of his CoolPad phone, Infinix handset and Nokia handset with others who are still at large on Ondo/Ore expressway around Liyetu village while armed with dangerous weapons.
Corroborating the state prosecutor’s account, the first prosecution witness, Adamu Mustapha who was the complainant said him and his motorboy were waylaid by the gang of robbers who had put iron and planks filled with nails on the road which his articulated vehicle ran into.
“My motorboy and I ran into a barricade on the Ondo/Ore road and suddenly from nowhere, the armed robbers emerged, they beat us mercilessly and in the process robbed us of our clothes, phones and the sum of N52, 710.
He also told the court that two days after the horrifying incident, policemen from the Enuowa division, Ondo where he had lodged complaint, called him that his stolen phone had been recovered and the culprits arrested.
Another witness, Sergeant Franklin Alabi of Enuowa police station who tendered the exhibits recovered from the suspect before the court, confirmed that they received a distress call about an armed robbery attack that took place on the said highway on the 12th of July, 2017 which prompted the anti-robbery squad to swing into action.
www.sojworld.com © September 14, 2018
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