ENUGU, Nigeria (VOICE OF NAIJA)- The Ikeja High Court on Wednesday convicted two pipeline vandals, Clement Ododomu and Tiwei Monday, charged with killing seven State Security Service (SSS) officers.
The killings occurred on 14 September 2015, at Ishawo Creek, Ikorodu, Lagos State.
Justice Hakeem Oshodi found Messrs Ododomu and Monday guilty but deferred their sentencing until 14 November, following a plea for mercy by their counsel.
Mr Oshodi found Mr Ododomu guilty of conspiracy to commit murder, murder and possession of firearms and found Mr Monday guilty of conspiracy to commit murder.
According to him, the claim of defence that the defendants were in Lagos for their grandmother’s funeral was a ruse.
Oshodi held that the defence failed to provide essential witnesses to corroborate the claim.
He, however, held that the prosecution could not prove that the second defendant (Mr Monday) was guilty of murder.
Oshodi said evidence before the court showed that one Agbala and the first defendant (Mr Ododomu) killed the operatives.
He held that the prosecution was able to prove that the two defendants participated in the ambush of the operatives.
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He said, “Upon proper evaluation of evidence before the court, the convicts are hereby discharged and acquitted on counts of two, three, four, six and eight because the prosecution was unable to prove the allegations against them.
“However, the prosecution was able to prove that the first defendant, Ododomu, is guilty of counts one, five, seven, nine and 10, which border on conspiracy to commit murder, murders, possession of firearms and felony.
“The second defendant, Monday, is also found guilty of counts one and 10, which border on conspiracy to commit murder and felony.”
However, Lagos State Director of Public Prosecutions, Babajide Martins, urged the court to convict them as prescribed by the section under which they were charged.
Lagos State Government had submitted that the SSS received a distress call from an editor of Sun newspaper (name withheld) on 14 September 2015, about the kidnap of his wife at their residence.
It said the state command of the SSS consequently dispatched a nine-man team to carry out surveillance to ascertain the location of the kidnappers who were negotiating for a ransom.
The prosecution added that it was reported that in the evening of that day, one of the SSS team members, Martins Ajayi, sent a distress text message to the command headquarters that vandals and their weapons seized had ambushed the team.
According to the prosecution, the convicts committed the offences on 14 September 2015, in Ishawo Creek, Ikorodu, Lagos.
The convicts were arraigned on a 10-count charge bordering on conspiracy to commit murder, murder and illegal possession of firearms, contrary to Section 223 and 298 (3) of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015.
NAN.