An Ekiti State High Court sitting in Ado Ekiti has sentenced three men to a combined 97 years imprisonment for kidnapping, armed robbery, and unlawful possession of offensive weapons.

The convicts are Augustine Agbogbo, who was sentenced to 40 years, Adeniyi Olamilekan, who received 25 years, and Ademoh Gabriel, who was jailed for 32 years.

The court, however, discharged and acquitted three other defendants, Ogungbemi Gbenga, Monday Rakiya, and Oseni Mutairu, after ruling that the prosecution failed to prove the charges against them beyond a reasonable doubt.

The six defendants had been arraigned on August 11, 2023, on charges bordering on conspiracy, kidnapping, armed robbery, and unlawful possession of dangerous weapons.

According to the prosecution, the defendants robbed one Ajibade Adeleke of ₦15,000 on June 6, 2022, and later abducted retired Naval officer Lt. Cdr Victoria Eisape and the same victim on December 20, 2022, along the Itapaji Ekiti area.

The prosecution said the kidnappers demanded ₦70 million ransom and eventually secured the victim’s release after ₦8 million was paid.

It also stated that during a later operation in April 2023, security operatives recovered three long-barreled guns, 33 live cartridges, and 56 expended cartridges from the suspects.

During the trial, the prosecution called seven witnesses and tendered exhibits, including statements, weapons, ammunition, and other recovered items.

Delivering judgment, Justice Adeniyi Familoni said the confessional statements of the three convicted persons were credible, and their attempts to retract them were merely an afterthought.

He ruled that the prosecution successfully proved the offences of conspiracy to kidnap, kidnapping, and unlawful possession of firearms against the three convicts.

The judge said kidnapping remains a serious security threat in Nigeria and that the convicted men deserved stiff punishment to serve as a deterrent to others.

He ordered that all prison terms run concurrently and take effect from the date the convicts were first arrested and remanded in custody.