The Supreme Court has upheld the death sentence by hanging imposed on a Delta State-based kidnapper, Chelynor Halim, bringing final closure to a case linked to armed robbery and kidnapping.
In a unanimous judgment delivered by a five-member panel of the apex court, the justices dismissed Halim’s appeal as lacking merit and affirmed the earlier decisions of the lower courts.
The case dates back to a 2017 ruling by a High Court in Asaba, Delta State, which found that the prosecution had proven Halim’s involvement in the kidnapping and armed robbery of Joan Osemene on February 9, 2014, in Ibusa.
Court records showed that Halim and his accomplices abducted the victim, assaulted her, and threatened her with a firearm before using a substance to render her unconscious. The gang leader, identified as Edozie Obude, was said to have further assaulted the victim and ordered that she be searched.
During the ordeal, the victim’s ATM card and ₦10,000 were taken, after which the suspects withdrew an additional ₦55,000 from her account. She was later tied up and abandoned at another location but managed to escape and reach a road where she flagged down a motorcyclist.
The motorcyclist, later identified as Halim, was recognised by the victim as one of her attackers, leading to his arrest. He was subsequently handed over to the Department of State Services (DSS) and later led operatives to the gang’s hideout, where a shootout resulted in the death of the gang leader. In its final ruling, the Supreme Court held that the evidence clearly established Halim’s identity and role in the crime, dismissing appeal SC/CR/913/2022 and affirming the death sentence. The judgment comes amid a rise in kidnapping cases nationwide, including recent school abductions in Oyo and Borno States involving dozens of pupils.
Elijah Adeyemi
No comments:
Post a Comment