0
0
The Ekiti State High Court sitting in Ado Ekiti has sentenced a 34-year-old man, Stephen Adamu, to death by hanging for killing his biological brother.
Adamu was first arraigned before Justice Adekunle Adeleye on January 31, 2025, on a one-count charge of murder. According to the charge, “Stephen Adamu, on September 29, 2024, in Ado Ekiti, murdered one David Adamu, contrary to Section 234 of the Criminal Law of Ekiti State, 2021.”
During the trial, an eyewitness, Selfa Vengrim, Chairman of the Langtan community in Plateau State, testified that the incident occurred in the Atikankan area of Ado Ekiti.
According to him, “I received a call that members of my community were fighting, so I rushed to the scene. I met Stephen Adamu attacking his girlfriend, Julianah. He had already wounded her, and she was taken to the hospital. The deceased, David Adamu, was trying to separate them when Stephen brought out a knife and stabbed him in the neck. When he realized that David was gasping for breath, he tried to flee, but we chased and caught him, then handed him over to the police.”
David reportedly died at the scene, and his body was later deposited in the morgue by the police.
To prove its case, the prosecution counsel, Funmi Bello, called six witnesses and tendered exhibits, including the defendant’s statement, an attestation form, and the knife used in the crime. The defendant, represented by his lawyer, S.K. Idowu, did not call any witnesses in his defense.
Delivering judgment, Justice Adeleye held that the prosecution had successfully proven its case beyond reasonable doubt.
He said, “From the entire circumstances of this case, Stephen Adamu deliberately stabbed David Adamu on the neck. The necessary inference is that the defendant intended to kill the deceased. I accept the evidence of the prosecution witnesses as having established the essential elements of the offence of murder.”
“I find the defendant guilty as charged. The defendant, Stephen Adamu, is hereby sentenced to death by hanging,” the judge pronounced.
