By BANNERNEWS Reporter
An Ondo State High Court sitting in Akure has sentenced a vulcaniser, Wasiu Ibrahim, to death by hanging for the murder of Joseph Odunayo over the alleged theft of a mobile phone.
Justice Ademola Enikuomehin convicted Ibrahim on Monday on charges of murder and conspiracy after ruling that the prosecution proved its case beyond reasonable doubt. The court also sentenced him to two years’ imprisonment for conspiracy.
The prosecution, led by D.S. Msonter-Shagba, told the court that the incident stemmed from the alleged theft of an Infinix mobile phone belonging to Lekan Falohun on December 25, 2024. Odunayo was accused of stealing the phone and was apprehended by Falohun and others, including the convict, on December 31, 2024, along Continental Road, Akure.
During the trial, six prosecution witnesses testified while six exhibits were tendered, including evidence from the phone owner’s mother, Mrs. Taiwo Falohun. Ibrahim, who was arraigned on November 25, 2025, had pleaded not guilty to the charges.
The court heard that Odunayo was forced to lead his captors to the alleged buyer of the phone. While being transported, he reportedly jumped from a moving motorcycle and sustained injuries. After he was recaptured, he was tied up and brutally assaulted by Ibrahim, Falohun and other suspects who remain at large.
Witnesses testified that the beating continued despite repeated pleas from the victim’s relatives and community leaders. Odunayo’s brother, Emmanuel Sunday, told the court that Ibrahim continued the assault even after the victim had collapsed, while another witness, Bose Ojo, said she saw the convict repeatedly beat him with a wooden plank after pushing him out of a vehicle.
The prosecution further revealed that police officers declined to detain the severely injured victim because of his condition and instead directed that he be taken to hospital. Odunayo later died at a police clinic.
Although no autopsy was conducted, Justice Enikuomehin held that consistent eyewitness testimony and the sequence of events clearly established that the fatal injuries resulted from the brutal assault. He dismissed Ibrahim’s claim that he merely served as a commercial motorcyclist hired by Falohun and had no role in the attack.
Condemning mob justice as unlawful and unacceptable in a society governed by the rule of law, the judge directed the police to intensify efforts to arrest Falohun and other suspects still at large. He then pronounced the death sentence, ordering that Ibrahim “be hanged by the neck until you are dead.”
