The Kwara State High Court sitting in Ilorin on Monday sentenced three men to death by hanging for armed robbery and unlawful possession of firearms.
The convicts were arraigned before Justice M.O. Folorunso for a robbery carried out on March 2, 2024, at the Oko Erin area of Ilorin, where they attacked their victim and stole his Infinix Note 11 phone at gunpoint.
Delivering judgment, Justice Folorunso — visibly emotional — declared, “The three of you be hanged by the neck until you die,” as she wept while pronouncing the sentence.
In the same court, two women, including a pregnant mother, were discharged and acquitted of a four-count charge bordering on unlawful possession of firearms, aiding and abetting, kidnapping, and criminal conspiracy.
The women, identified as Aisha Haruna and Rabi Umar, were arrested on June 25, 2025, in Babanla community, Ifelodun Local Government Area, after police anti-kidnapping operatives allegedly found an AK-47 rifle and 31 rounds of ammunition in their vehicle.
However, Justice Folorunso ruled that the prosecution, led by Senior State Counsel I.B. Olorundare, failed to establish a solid case, citing contradictory evidence from police witnesses.
The judge noted that while one of the defendants admitted to having a rifle in her bag, the prosecution could not conclusively prove whether it was an AK-47 or AK-49, nor establish intent to commit an illegal act.
The court therefore acquitted both women and ordered their counsels to provide transport fare to their homes in Kaduna and Kanmbi, Moro Local Government Area.
This judgment follows a similar death sentence delivered months earlier by a Plateau State High Court, where Justice Silas Bakfur condemned former student Emmanuel Ude to death by hanging for the 2021 murder of his teacher, Mr. Job Dashe, at Government Technical College, Bukuru.
