The Ondo State High Court sitting in Akure has sentenced a 21-year-old domestic worker, Emmanuel Akpan, to death by hanging for the murder of his employer, Mrs Febisola Caroline Adedayo.
In a judgment delivered on Wednesday, Justice Rotimi Olamide found Akpan guilty of murder, while his co-defendant, Goodness James Akpe, was discharged and acquitted for lack of evidence.
The case, marked AK/57C/2022, was instituted by the Ondo State Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice on a two-count charge bordering on conspiracy and murder under relevant provisions of the Criminal Code Laws of Ondo State, 2006.
The court heard that the incident occurred on March 29, 2021, at Ifakanbale Street in the Sabo area of Ondo town, where the victim, a food vendor, was attacked in her residence at night.
According to the prosecution, the defendants plotted the killing, with Akpan allegedly inflicting fatal machete wounds on the victim’s neck, leading to her death.
Evidence presented before the court further showed that the assailants targeted the deceased after learning she had money at home.
They were also said to have set the building ablaze in a bid to disguise the crime as a gas explosion.
In his ruling, Justice Olamide held that the prosecution established its case beyond reasonable doubt, noting that witnesses’ testimonies were consistent and remained intact under cross-examination.
He added that the confessional statements made by the defendants corroborated the prosecution’s case, dismissing their denials as unconvincing and at variance with the evidence before the court.
The judge also faulted Akpan’s account of his arrest, describing it as implausible, and said his actions after the incident pointed to his culpability.
Describing the killing as brutal and callous, the court noted that the deceased had previously extended kindness to the convict, making the act more reprehensible.
While Akpe was freed due to insufficient proof linking him directly to the crime, Akpan was found guilty and handed the mandatory sentence.
“The sentence of the court upon you, Emmanuel Akpan, is that you be hanged by the neck until you are dead. May God have mercy on your soul,” the judge ruled.
Akpan and Akpe were arrested shortly after the incident in March 2021.
Police investigations indicated that the suspects allegedly killed their employer to steal valuables, including ATM cards, mobile phones and a generator, before attempting to destroy evidence by setting the house on fire.