Francis Sadhere

A Delta State high Court sitting in Warri has sentenced three young men in their thirties to death by hanging for kidnapping and killing an 80 year old woman in custody, even after collecting a ransom of Eight Hundred Thousand Naira.

Late Mama Ighoru Eruvbedede, the 80 years old victim

The convicted kidnappers who showed no remorse for their dastardly act after the court verdict are Shadrack Samson Dobibe, Francis Mudiaga and Ejiro Diamond.

They were charged before the Warri high Court on a 4-court charge of conspiracy to commit kidnapping, demanding property with menace and murder.

Prosecution from the State Ministry of Justice told the Court that the three accused persons, now convicted by the Court, including one Akpodiete Oghenekaro, who was discharged and acquitted by the Court for lack of sufficient evidence on or about the 6^th day of July, 2009 at Uduophori Village, Patani within the Bomadi Judicial Division conspired amongst themselves and kidnapped one Ighoru Eruvbedede, an 80 year old woman and later placed a demand of a ransom of twenty million naira from the family before she could be released from captivity.

Prosecution also told the court that even upon collecting a ransom of eight hundred and thousand naira which the son painfully mustered, the accused persons killed and threw her corpse into the Otuomor River, where it was swept away by tide.

Prosecution called 6 witnesses to buttress its case while the accused testified for themselves and called no witness.

Delivering the judgement, the trial Judge averred that the court was satisfied by the evidence of prosecution which was proven beyond any reasonable doubts and found the 1^st, 2^nd and 3^rd accused persons guilty on all 4 counts and sentenced them to death by hanging. The court described the action of the accused persons as barbaric and heinous and must not go unpunished.