•Report by Halimah Olamide
A High Court sitting in Ilorin has sentenced the killers of one Blessing Omowumi, a 300-level student of the University of Ilorin, UNILORIN, to death by hanging.
This is coming just after a year and a half of the legal battle.
The deceased victim was reportedly raped and gruesomely killed by the convicts.
Justice Ibrahim Yusuf, who presided over the matter, sentenced 1st, 2nd and 3rd suspects; Abdulazeez Ismail, Ajala Oluwatimileyin and Oyeyemi Omogbolahan, over the offences of armed robbery and culpable homicide.
Yusuf said, “I direct you Abdulazeez Ismail, Ajala Oluwatimileyin and Oyeyemi Omogbolahan, should be hanged by the neck until you’re pronounced dead”.
The 2nd convict bagged 14years imprisonment over offence of rape on a concurrent run of term while the court gave the 1st, 4th and 5th, 3years imprisonment over offence of theft.
The 6th, 7th and 8th suspects; Abdullateef Abdulrahman, Daud Bashir Aderayo and Akande Taiye Oladoja were earlier discharged and acquitted by the court on the ground that they were innocent of the charges against them.
The judge revealed that the dead body of the deceased victim was recovered in the afternoon, with bruise all over body, her hands tied backward, and a towel was used to cover her face.
The judge also revealed that the deceased struggled with the killers until she was overpowered by them.
The judge added that the convicts raped the deceased victim till death on June 2, 2021 at her residence in Tanke area, Ilorin.
The perpetrators, according to the judge, dropped a piece of paper on her chest with the inscription: ‘No forgiveness for Unilorin student’.
The judge further added that Ismail, Oluwatimileyin collaborated with Omogbolahan collaborated to dispossess the deceased victim of her black Acer Aspire laptop, Samsung Galaxy A2 Core handset, one Samsung drive, among others.
Those who killed the young lady were tried on 11 count charge which border on rape, murder, illegal possession of firearms, armed robbery, among others.