An Ogun High Court in Abeokuta on Friday sentenced a reveller, Rasheed Kareem, to death by hanging for the murder of Ahmed Muyideen.
In her judgment, Justice Olatokunbo Olopade said the convict, who was returning from a carnival, was guilty of murder, for smashing a bottle on Mr. Muyideen’s head and thereafter stabbing him with it, leading to his death.
Mrs. Olopade, the Chief Judge of Ogun State, said the prosecution had proved the unlawful act that led to the death of the deceased beyond reasonable doubt.
“With all the evidence tendered in court during trial, I found that the accused person had unlawfully caused the death of the deceased.
“The act was done intentionally, so the court has found him (Kareem) guilty of the offence. I hereby sentence the accused to death by hanging,’’ she said.
The Chief Judge said the offence committed contravened Section 316, and was punishable under Section 391 of the Criminal Code, Law of Ogun 2006.
“Section 316 provides that any person who causes the death of another directly or indirectly by any means whatsoever is deemed to have killed the person,’’ Mrs. Olopade said.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the convict, who had been standing trial since 2015, had at his arraignment pleaded not guilty to the charge.
Mr. Kareem was arrested and charged for attacking and stabbing the deceased with bottle.
The prosecution counsel, Olubankole Mafe, had established during trial that the convict committed the offence at about 8.00p.m. on Dec. 19, 2015 under ltoku Bridge in Abeokuta.
According to prosecution witnesses, Mr. Muyideen had boarded a taxi while returning from a church programme.
The taxi, on getting to Itoku, was said to have developed a fault.
One of the witnesses said Mr. Muyideen and other passengers came down to push the taxi off the road.
“While trying to push the taxi to a safe place for repairs, the accused person who was coming from a community carnival came down from his motorcycle with an empty bottle and smashed it on Kareem’s head before stabbing him in the stomach.
“Kareem was rushed to the Federal Medical Center, Idi Aba, in Abeokuta, where he received treatment, but later died after two days,” the witness said.
In his prayer after the conviction of his client, the defence counsel, Mr Oludotun Sotonade, urged the court to temper justice with mercy.
-NAN
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