Summary: An Ondo State High Court has sentenced Shittu Isiaka, a lecturer at College of Health Technology, Ijero-Ekiti, to death by hanging for armed robbery. Read the full story of how a N20,000 transport job led to this shocking verdict.
In a judgment that has sent shockwaves through academic circles, an Ondo State High Court sitting in Akure has sentenced a lecturer to death by hanging for armed robbery and conspiracy to commit armed robbery.
Justice O. M. Adejumo delivered the verdict against Shittu Isiaka, a lecturer at the College of Health Technology, Ijero-Ekiti, Ekiti State, after finding him guilty on two counts of conspiracy and armed robbery. The court, however, discharged and acquitted him on a third count of endangering life or health, ruling that the prosecution failed to prove the allegation beyond reasonable doubt.
How a Simple Transport Job Turned Deadly
The case, which began in November 2018, centred around a brazen daylight robbery that occurred on July 5, 2017. According to the prosecution, Isiaka and other accomplices who remain at large robbed commercial driver Olatunji Olowoyeye of his Nissan Cabstar vehicle (registration number XJ 214 KTU) at gunpoint along Ibuji on the Akure-Ilesha Expressway.
The incident happened around 11 a.m., a time when many Nigerians would be going about their daily business, making the crime even more shocking in its audacity.
The Victim’s Harrowing Testimony
Testifying before the court, Olowoyeye painted a disturbing picture of betrayal and violence. The commercial driver explained that he knew the defendant and had been hired by him and two others in Ilesa to transport cocoa beans from Igbara-Oke for N20,000—a typical job for many drivers plying Nigerian roads.
The men paid N8,000 upfront and promised to settle the balance after the trip. Everything seemed normal until they asked him to reverse his vehicle into a bush near a primary school at Ibuji.
“Trouble started when they asked me to reverse into the bush,” Olowoyeye recounted. “One of the men sitting beside me suddenly brought out a gun while the defendant sat close to me in the front seat.”
What followed was a nightmare. The men dragged him from his vehicle, collected the key, his phone, and money, then tied his hands and legs before abandoning him in the bush. The victim further alleged that Isiaka injected him with an unknown substance before tying him to a tree.
In a desperate bid for survival, Olowoyeye rolled himself through the bush until he reached the main road, where police officers rescued him and rushed him to hospital. He spent approximately 15 days receiving treatment and reportedly passed bloody urine for days following the incident.
Police Investigation and Trial
Inspector Kehinde Omotosho, a police witness, testified that highway patrol officers brought the victim to Igbara-Oke Police Station naked. The victim subsequently made a statement implicating the defendant in the robbery.
Throughout the trial, Isiaka maintained his innocence, denying any involvement in the robbery. Regarding the allegation that he injected the victim with a substance, he argued that he was not a medical practitioner and had no licence to obtain or administer injections.
The defendant also pointed out that police investigators failed to present any syringe or other items allegedly used in the crime. He emphasised that no medical report was produced to prove the complainant was injected with any poisonous substance.
The Court’s Verdict
In delivering judgment, Justice Adejumo carefully considered all evidence presented. The court ruled that the prosecution failed to prove the offence of endangering life as required by Section 135(1) of the Evidence Act.
“There was no eyewitness account of the alleged injection and no medical report to support the victim’s claim of hospitalisation,” Justice Adejumo noted. The court held that it would be unsafe to rely solely on testimonies without supporting medical evidence, and therefore acquitted Isiaka on the third count.
However, on the charges of conspiracy to commit armed robbery and armed robbery itself, the court found sufficient evidence linking the defendant to the crime.
Justice Adejumo convicted Isiaka and handed down a severe sentence: life imprisonment for conspiracy and death by hanging for the armed robbery offence.
“The sentence of this court upon the convict is that he be hanged by the neck until he is dead,” the judge declared solemnly, adding a prayer that God would have mercy on his soul.
A Cautionary Tale
This case serves as a stark reminder that crime does not pay, regardless of one’s educational background or social status. The fact that a lecturer—someone entrusted with moulding young minds—could be involved in such a heinous crime has shocked many Nigerians.
The case was prosecuted by John Dada Joshua, while O. I. Tiwo appeared for the defendant.
As Nigeria continues to grapple with security challenges, this judgment sends a strong message about the consequences of armed robbery. However, questions remain about the other accomplices who are still at large and whether they will ever face justice for their role in this crime.
For commercial drivers and transporters across Nigeria, this case also highlights the dangers they face daily and the need for increased vigilance when accepting jobs from strangers—even those who appear respectable or familiar.
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