A Delta State High Court sitting at Asaba, the state capital, has sentenced two persons to death for armed robbery and murder.
The two defendants, Abdulrasheed Mohammed (m) and Aliyu Bawa (m) were alleged to have committed the offences on May 29 2020 at Oni Edozien Street, Off Ezenei Avenue, Asaba.
The prosecution led by Mrs Esther Azomani of the State Ministry of Justice, through its witnesses, told the court that on a fateful day, the two defendants alongside two others now at large while riding in a tricycle (Keke) robbed one Ifeanyi Okafor of his mobile phone handsets.
In the process of the armed robbery, the victim was stabbed in his chest, and he later died. The first and second defendants then made away with the phones, which they later sold to the third defendant, one Daniel Joseph for N6,000.
The police tracked the phones to the third defendant, who led them to arrest the first and second defendants.
The court presided over by Justice Onome Marshall-Umukoro, in his judgment, held that the prosecution proved the case against the 1st and 2nd defendants beyond reasonable doubt. The court found them guilty of the offences as charged and convicted them accordingly. The Court held that the case against the third defendant was not proved beyond reasonable doubt.
He was accordingly discharged and acquitted of the offence of receiving robbed property.
