Ibadan—FORMER
Chairman of the National Union of Road Transport Workers in Oyo State, Alhaji
Lamidi Mukaila, also known as “Auxilliary” and four other accused persons have
been convicted and sentenced to six years imprisonment by an Oyo State High
Court for conspiracy in the death of some individuals, including a medical
student, on March 2, 2014.
Mukaila, Saheed
Kareem, Abu Kareem, Kazeem Kayode and Taiwo Tijani had been standing trial for
the mayhem at Iwo Road interchange, Ibadan.
Among the victims
was one Adekunle Oladipupo, a 500 level medical student of the Ahmadu Bello
University (ABU), Zaria.
But, Mr. Olalekan
Ojo, the counsel to the accused persons said his clients would appeal the
judgment, contending that since the court had acquitted and discharged them of
murder and attempted murder, the conspiracy for which they were convicted did
not exist. While delivering judgment, Justice Eni Esan said the accused persons
were charged with a three-count charge of conspiracy, murder and attempted
murder.
The judge noted that the
prosecution witness, one Akeem Agbaje in his evidence told the court he was beside
Adekunle Adedipupo on the faithful day when the accused persons with others at
large stormed the motor park in a Peugeot 604 belonging to Alhaji Mukaila and
two other cars shooting sporadically.
The witness went further that it was
during the shooting that bullet hit the deceased who died immediately,
lamenting that he too, sustained serious injuries.
Justice Esan also said
during cross examination, the PW 1 told the court that although the incident
occurred around 9:45pm, he was able to
identify the accused persons with the help of head light of the cars that lit
up the place.
The judge said he was not convinced that the witness could
identify the accused persons using the head light. On the allegations of
attempted murder, the trial judge held that since the argument of the PW 1 had
failed by identifying the accused through vehicle head light, the charge could
not stand because it was already late in the night, saying: “The court hereby
discharged the accused persons on the murder charge.”
Continuing, the court ruled that since the first accused person admitted that he owned guns and the accused were caught in a car with rounds of bullet, they were guilty of conspiracy and sentenced to six years imprisonment each.
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