Ondo Mechanic to die by hanging for armed robbery in Osun

A 29-year-old mechanic, Sola Emorua, has been sentenced to death by hanging for armed robbery by an Osun State High Court sitting in Ilesa.

The sentence was handed down on Thursday by Justice Isiaka Adeleke, who has heard the case for close to three years, beginning from January 29, 2018 when the defendant was first arraigned on two counts of conspiracy and armed robbery before him.

Justice Adeleke said the prosecution proved its case beyond reasonable doubt.

The lead prosecution counsel from the Osun State Ministry of Justice, Motolani Sokefun, had told the court that the convict and others at large on May 7, 2015 around 5:30pm in Osu, on the Ilesa-Ife Expressway, while armed with weapons, robbed a tanker loaded with 33,000 litres of kerosene belonging to one Ismaila Azeez.

Sokefun said a few weeks after that, Emorua and his gang also robbed another petrol-laden tanker at the same spot.

He added that that a team of policemen, however, swooped on the gang and arrested two members, adding that when the victim of the first incident was brought, he identified Emorua.

Kehinde Aworele, who represented the defendant, called three witnesses and tendered exhibits, including his confessional statement, insisting that his client was not guilty of the crime.

Aworele also said his client was a mechanic and had come to Ilesa to repair a vehicle a day before the robbery, and was returning to Ore, Ondo State, when he was arrested by policemen.