A Kwara State High Court sitting in Ilorin has sentenced three men to death by hanging for armed robbery and unlawful possession of firearms.
The convicts were found guilty of robbing a man of his Infinix Note 11 phone at gunpoint around 6 a.m. on March 2, 2024, at the Oko Erin area of Ilorin, the state capital.
Delivering judgment, Justice M. Folorunso said the prosecution proved its case beyond reasonable doubt, adding that the convicts’ actions showed a total disregard for human life.
While pronouncing the sentence, the judge, visibly moved, declared: “The three young men shall be hanged by the neck until they die.”
However, the court discharged and acquitted two women, Aisha Haruna and Rabi Murtala — one of whom is pregnant — of all charges bordering on unlawful possession of firearms, aiding and abetting kidnapping, and criminal conspiracy.
The women were arrested on June 25, 2025, by operatives of the police anti-kidnapping squad in Babanla, Ifelodun Local Government Area, after a search on a vehicle they were travelling in reportedly yielded an English rifle and 31 live ammunition.
The prosecution, led by Senior State Counsel I. Olorundare, alleged that the suspects were intercepted alongside others who fled the scene.
But in his over one-hour judgment, Justice Folorunso held that the prosecution failed to establish the case against the women, noting inconsistencies in the testimonies of police witnesses.
He observed that while one of the defendants admitted a rifle was found in her bag, the police failed to specify whether the weapon was an AK-47 or AK-49, creating doubt about the evidence presented.
The court consequently discharged and acquitted the women and directed their counsel to provide transport fare for their return to their respective homes in Kaduna and Kanmbi community, Moro Local Government Area of the state.