Court sentences man to death for stealing handset, N10,000

FOR allegedly robbing his victims of a mobile telephone and N10, 000 cash while armed with a gun, a 24-year-old man was on Monday sentenced to death by hanging by a Delta High Court at Akwukwu-Igbo, Oshimili North Local Council.

The convict, Vincent Okwekwu, was convicted of the offence of conspiracy to commit armed robbery, the substantive offence of armed robbery, which was reduced to a lesser offence of robbery.

The young accused who looked dejected after the judgment was, however, sentenced to death by hanging for the offence of conspiracy while he got 21 years jail term for each of the other two counts.

During the trial, prosecution from the Department of Public Prosecutions had explained that the unemployed robber had on or about November 1, 2009 with two others now at large broke into the flats of one Ofoyeju Peter and Tietie Moses at Umueha quarters, Ibusa, also in Oshimili North Local Council and robbed them of cash amounting to N10, 000 and a telephone handset while armed with a gun and a cutlass.

Nemesis caught up with them when his victims raised the alarm that attracted members of the vigilance group in the area that led to the arrest convict, as he and the other gang members tried to flee from the scene of the crime.

While Vincent was arrested, two other members of the gang, now at large, escaped into a nearby bush. Prosecution further told the Court that the accused, who was later handed over to the Police, admitted to have committed the crime in his voluntary statement but denied the charge as he pleaded not guilty to all the three count charge.