A DOMESTIC worker, Joseph Ogbu, has been sentenced to death by hanging by a High Court sitting in Ikeja, Lagos State.
The judgment was passed by Justice Modupe Nicole-Clay, who found the convict guilty of three counts of armed robbery and murder on Monday, February 27.
The case involved the killing of Adejoke John, an 89-year-old grandmother, and her daughter, Oreoluwa, at their home in the Surulere area of Lagos in 2019.
The Lagos State government had arraigned Ogbu on October 22, 2019, on three counts of armed robbery and murder under sections 222 and 297 of the Criminal Laws of Lagos State, 2015.
Ogbu had pleaded not guilty to the charges.
The prosecution argued that Ogbu strangled Adejoke and stabbed Oreoluwa, who was pregnant at the time, to death on June 19, 2019, while robbing the duo.
Ogbu had robbed the victims of a Toyota Camry Saloon car, an LG plasma TV, a motorway handset, a Gionee handset, a Nokia phone, an Itel phone, and a power bank.
During the trial, the judge heard from witnesses, including a security guard, an Okada man, a house help, and a policeman.
Ogbu admitted to living with the deceased mother and daughter and was the only witness to the incident.
The judge also noted that the defendant did not raise any objections to the admissibility of his confessional statement.
Justice Nicole-Clay held that the defendant confessed to the crimes and could not provide an explanation for the stolen items found in his possession when he was arrested.
In her judgment, the judge found the evidence presented to be convincing and established Ogbu’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. She subsequently pronounced him guilty as charged.
In his allocution, the defence counsel, Moses Enema, described the defendant as a first-time offender and requested the court to temper justice with mercy.
But the judge went ahead to sentence the convict to death by hanging.
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