Two welders to die for armed robbery in Delta

A Delta State High Court sitting in Warri on Thursday sentenced two armed robbers, 27 year-old Monday Godwin and 33 year-old Ochuko Ego, to death by hanging, for robbing a banker’s wife of her Toyota Corolla
Salon Car, while armed with guns.

The convicted armed robbers said to be welders by profession, were pronounced guilty by the trial judge and sentenced to death by hanging for the offence of armed robbery.

The court also found them guilty on the count of conspiracy to commit kidnapping and the substantive offence of kidnapping, to which, they were sentenced to five and eight years imprisonment each for both offences.

The prosecuting counsel from the Delta State Ministry of Justice had told the court that the two accused persons, Godwin and Ego with two others, “Bestman and Couple, still at large, on or about
the 8th day of October, 2012 at Oha, within Orerokpe Judicial Division, conspired amongst themselves and
executed their act of conspiracy by robbing one Mrs. Romelia Esangbedo of one Toyota Corolla Salon Car belonging to her husband while armed with guns”.

The prosecution also told the court that after being robbed of her car, the armed bandits also held Mrs. Esangbedo hostage and demanded for an undisclosed amount from her husband before she was released.
She was, however, rescued the next day from Aghalokpe, where the stolen vehicle was also recovered through the prompt intervention of security agents.

The court, while delivering the death verdict, said the prosecution was able to prove beyond reasonable doubt that ingredients of the four charges against the accused persons as evidence before the court, including their confessional statements was enough to secure convictions against the accused.

Meanwhile an Issele-Uku Chief Magistrate Court hearing the case of alleged conspiracy and forgery of PDP primary result sheets against Mr. Uzoma Idabor, has adjourned to April 7, 2016 to rule on the admissibility of a fiat tendered by the state Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice on behalf of the prosecution team.

During the resumed hearing during the week at Issele-Uku, Mr. Chijioke Erondo, who appeared for the prosecution team, told the court that he has a fiat from the state Attorney General and commissioner for
justice to prosecute the case.

Arguing against the objection raised by the counsel to the accused person, Mr. Samuel Nnadi, Mr. Erondo, who represented the prosecution, described the objection as laughable and urged the court to dismiss it.

According to him, “the objection of the accused person without legal authority cannot hold water, the right of Police Act, while the state or Federal Attorney General has the powers to institute, prosecute, takeover or discontinue any case within his jurisdiction”.