A Lagos State High Court sitting in Ikeja, has convicted two pipeline vandals, Clement Ododomu and Tiwei Monday, for conspiracy and murder of seven officers of Department of State Security (DSS), at Ishawo Creek of Ikorodu area on September 14, 2015, News About Nigeria learnt.
The trial judge, Hakeem Oshodi, in his judgement on Wednesday, found the two guilty of the death of the DSS officers.
The judge, however, deferred their sentencing to November 14, after hearing their plea.
In his judgement, Oshodi found the first defendant, Ododomu, guilty of conspiracy to commit murder, murder, possession of firearms and felony, while the second defendant, Monday, was found guilty of conspiracy to commit murder and felony.
According to the state government, trouble started on September 14, 2015, when the DSS office received a distress report from an Editor of the Sun Newspaper about the kidnap of his wife at their residence.
The Command, therefore, sent a nine-man team to investigate and ascertain the location of the kidnappers that were already negotiating for a ransom from the family of their victim.
However, in the evening, one of the team members, Mr. Martins Ajayi, sent a distressed report to the station that they had been ambushed by vandals who seized their weapons.
Following his report, the suspects were, thereafter, arrested and arraigned on a 10-count charge bordering on murder and possession of firearms contrary to Section 223 and 298 (3) of the Criminal Law, Cap. C. A Vol. 3, laws of Lagos State 2015.
The convicts, who pleaded not guilty to all the counts levelled against them, claimed that they were in Lagos for the funeral service of their grandmother but the court dismissed their claim, because they failed to provide essential witnesses to corroborate it.
The judge, therefore, held that, the prosecutor was able to prove that “the first defendant, Ododomu, is guilty of counts 1, 5, 7, 9 and 10, which border on conspiracy to commit murder, murder, possession of firearms and felony, while the second defendant, Monday, was found guilty of counts 1 and 10, which border on conspiracy to commit murder and felony.”
After the court pronounced them guilty as charged, the defence counsel, Mr. Olusegun Akande, prayed the court to temper justice with mercy in sentencing them.
On his part, the prosecutor and Director of Public Prosecution (DPP), Dr. Babajide Martins, charged the court to convict them as stipulated by the section under which they were charged.
