An Osun State High Court sitting in Iwo has sentenced three men to death by hanging for the killing and dismemberment of a 52-year-old woman, Asiata Yekeen, in the Ile-Ogbo community of the state.
The convicts, Muideen Tunji, Yusuf Muslim and Rabiu Fatai, were found guilty of conspiracy, murder and unlawful possession of human parts.
Yekeen was declared missing after repeated efforts to reach her failed, prompting concerned residents, Suleiman Akorede and Yekini Suleiman, to alert the police and operatives of the Osun Amotekun Corps in Ile-Ogbo.
Investigations later led to the arrest of the three suspects.
They were arraigned on three counts bordering on conspiracy, murder and unlawful possession of human parts, offences punishable under Sections 324, 319(a) and 329A(1) of the Criminal Code, Cap 34, Volume 2, Laws of Osun State of Nigeria, 2002.
The defendants first appeared before Justice Fatimah Sodamade on January 31, 2023, in Suit No. HIW/IC/2023 and pleaded not guilty.
While presenting the case, the prosecution counsel from the Ministry of Justice, Dele Akintayo, told the court that Tunji, who owed the deceased money, invited her to his residence under the guise of settling the debt.
He said Yekeen met the two other defendants at the house, where she was later attacked.
Akintayo added that the defendants subsequently killed Yekeen, dismembered her body, removed some parts and buried the remains in a shallow grave near Tunji’s residence.
He said residents who saw the deceased enter Tunji’s house raised the alarm when her disappearance became known in the community.
The prosecutor further told the court that Tunji fled upon suspecting that security operatives were closing in, taking refuge at Muslim’s residence, while Fatai allegedly kept some parts of the deceased’s body.
The prosecution called six witnesses, tendered 13 exhibits and relied on the defendants’ confessional statements, urging the court to convict them.
However, defence counsel, J.D. Olaniyan, Adesina Olaniyan and Bayo Alade, argued that the evidence adduced by the prosecution was largely hearsay and insufficient to sustain a conviction.
In her judgment, Justice Sodamade held that the prosecution proved its case beyond reasonable doubt and found the defendants guilty on all counts.
She sentenced them to four years’ imprisonment for conspiracy, five years’ imprisonment for unlawful possession of human parts, and death by hanging for murder.