One Sunday Palms, who killed a commercial motorcyclist and stole his motorcycle in Ikire, Osun State, has been sentenced to death by hanging.
The Osun State Chief Judge, Adepele Ojo, found the accused guilty of murder and sentenced him to death by hanging.
Palms was said to have committed the offence on August 20, 2006, when he lured one Isiaka Rafiu, a commercial motorcyclist, to the bush in Ikire, the headquarters of Irewole Local Government Area of the state, killed him and stole his motorcycle.
The accused was first arraigned on December 8, 2014, on one count of murder.
The offence, according to Solicitor General of Osun State, Mr Dapo Adeniji, who led the prosecution team from the state Ministry of Justice, is contrary to and punishable under Section 319 of the Criminal Code, Cap. 3, Laws of Osun State, 2002.
Adeniji, who called three witnesses, also tendered statements that were later admitted as evidence by the court.
Addressing the court during the course of the trial, Adeniji explained that on August 20, 2006, one Isiaka Rafiu, a commercial motorcyclist went missing.
He said Rafiu’s remains were later found some days after on a footpath, adding that there were marks on the corpse that suggested that he must have struggled with someone before he was overpowered and killed.
One of the confessional statements of the convict read in part, “I saw the boy riding okada. I stopped him and asked him to take me to the farm along the Gbogban Road, Ikire. On getting to the farm, I asked him to stop.
“Before leaving my house, I took along a knife and kept it in a polythene bag. Later, I tripped him and I took the knife and cut his neck. After I saw that he was dead, I left him and went away with his motorcycle.”
Justice Ojo, in her judgement, declared that the prosecution had proved its case beyond reasonable doubt and passed the guilty verdict on the accused.
She subsequently ordered that Palms be hanged.