Court gavel
High Court in Ibadan has handed down the ultimate sentence to five men found guilty of killing a taxi driver during a violent confrontation in 2024.
Justice Oyeyemi Ajayi of the Oyo State High Court, delivering judgment on Monday, ruled that Segun Taiwo (36), Kehinde Ademola (46), Yahaya Adeniyi (45), Chinonso Samson (41) and Opadotun Michael (32) were jointly responsible for the conspiracy and murder of Akeem Shittu.
While addressing the court, Justice Ajayi noted that the evidence presented—including what she described as “circumstantial evidence of murder”—left no room for doubt.
“I am of the considered view that this court could safely infer conspiracy in the acts that led to the death of Akeem Shittu,” she said.
She therefore imposed a 20-year prison sentence on each defendant for conspiracy, before pronouncing the death penalty for the charge of murder.
“On count two, each of the defendant is sentenced to death by hanging,” the judge declared.
Earlier, State Counsel Mrs. K. K. Oloso had narrated how a minor road incident spiraled into a deadly attack. She told the court that on April 10, 2024, around 8:30 p.m., along Elepe, Arulogun Road in the Ojoo area of Ibadan, the defendants and others still at large attacked Shittu after he accidentally hit a motorcycle carrying two passengers.
The parties reportedly moved to a nearby pub to settle the matter. There, the motorcyclist’s group allegedly demanded N50,000 for treatment, but Shittu managed to offer only N8,000. He was prevented from leaving, stripped naked, and although he managed to flee briefly, he was later cornered and hacked to death with a machete.
Investigators later discovered his taxi abandoned in front of a shop belonging to one of the convict’s wives.
The prosecution emphasized that the offences violated Sections 316, 319, and 324 of the Criminal Code Laws of Oyo State 2000, which prescribe severe penalties for conspiracy and homicide.
The judgment brings closure to a case that stirred outrage in the community and reinforces the court’s stance on violent crime.
NAN
