Court Sentences 37-Year-Old Man to Death for Robbing Ikere Varsity Students

An Ekiti State High Court sitting in Ado-Ekiti has sentenced a 37-year-old man, Ayeni Kazeem, to death by hanging for robbing five students of Bamidele Olumilua University of Education, Science and Technology (BOUESTI), Ikere-Ekiti, at gunpoint.

Justice Lekan Olatawura delivered the judgment after finding Kazeem guilty on a five-count charge of armed robbery.

The prosecution told the court that on October 2, 2024, Kazeem, while armed with a gun, invaded a students' residence at BOUESTI and robbed five undergraduates of their mobile phones.

The stolen phones belonged to Adewale Moyinoluwa, Ogunbolude Oluwanifemi, Ojo Oluwamayowa, Sidiq Simbiat and Oloruntoba Nifemi. The devices—an Infinix Smart 7, Itel A04, Infinix Smart 6, Samsung Galaxy S6 and Tecno Pop 8—were valued at ₦680,000.

The offences contravened Section 312(2)(a) of the Criminal Law of Ekiti State, 2021.

Testifying before the court, one of the victims, Adewale Moyinoluwa, said the convict forced his way into their room at about 9:10 p.m. armed with a double-barrel pistol. He said they initially thought it was a prank until the assailant loaded the gun with cartridges and ordered them to hand over their phones before fleeing the scene.

The prosecuting counsel, Salem Bade-Gboyega, called seven witnesses and tendered the defendant's confessional statements, a lemon-green hoodie cardigan, ATM cards and a search warrant as exhibits.

The defendant, represented by defence counsel Amir Salami, testified in his own defence but called no additional witnesses. He urged the court to temper justice with mercy.

In his judgment, Justice Olatawura held that the prosecution proved its case beyond reasonable doubt and found Kazeem guilty on all five counts.

The judge noted that the convict showed no remorse throughout the trial and added that the law prescribed a mandatory sentence for the offence.

He consequently sentenced Ayeni Kazeem to death by hanging.