Court discharges ex-Oyo lawmaker, three others accused of killing ‘Sugar’

A High Court sitting in Ibadan on Thursday discharged and acquitted former Oyo State House of Assembly Chief Whip, Olafisoye Akinmoyede, and three others charged with the murder of a member of the House of Representatives, Temitope Olatoye, popularly known as Sugar.
Delivering judgement, Justice Maruf Adegbola also discharged Alhaji Rafiu Adebayo, Alhaji Rasheed Oladele and Kazeem Ayinde.
Justice Adegbola held that the prosecution failed to prove its case beyond reasonable doubts.
He held that the prosecution did not show any evidence in court that the defendants were at the scene of the crime.
He said: “The evidence before the court exonerated the defendants.
“The prosecution has not established any nexus to connect any of the defendants to the murder of Olatoye and I therefore hold that the prosecution has not proved any of the ingredients relating to the charges against the defendants.
“The prosecution failed totally to prove any of the ingredients of the offence of murder against the accused persons.
“It will amount to turning on the defendants to prove their innocence, which is not a requirement of the Nigeria criminal justice system.
“In fact, doing so contravenes section 36(5) of the 1999 constitutional (as amended) and the rights of the defendants.
“The prosecution has not established any of the ingredients of the offence of murder charged so as to warrant the court to ask the defendants to enter its defence.”
The judge said the prosecution failed to establish the charges preferred against the defendants and then discharged and acquitted the defendants.
Olatoye was shot dead in Ward 13 of Elesu village, Lalupon, Lagelu Local Government Area of Oyo State on March 9, 2019.
He died at the Accident and Emergency Centre of the University College Hospital in Ibadan.