Court sentences man to death by hanging for killing neighbour

The Ondo State High Court, sitting in Akure, the state capital, has sentenced a man, Abayomi Joseph, to death by hanging for killing his neighbour, Thomas Oluwole, in the state.

Joseph was sentenced to death after he was found guilty of hacking Oluwole, a bricklayer, to death with a machete in the Ijoka area of Akure in March 2021.

He was later arrested by the police and charged to court.

The man was arraigned before the court on one count charge of murder, through information filed before the court by an Assistant Chief Legal Officer, Omotola Ologun, from the Ondo State Ministry of Justice.

During the proceedings, the convict was said to have claimed to be insane while committing the crime.

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After a series of arguments from the prosecution and defence counsels, the court found Joseph guilty.

Delivering judgement on Monday, the presiding judge, Justice O.S Kuteyi, said since Joseph deliberately attacked his neighbour by hitting him with wood on his head and cutting his head with a cutlass, he could not be excused from the death he caused to the man by his action.

Justice Kuteyi, who added that the prosecution proved the case of murder against Joseph beyond reasonable doubt, sentenced him to death by hanging.

The judge said: “His feeble attempt to raise insanity or insane delusion was only a ploy to cover the face of the court from seeing the truth of the killing of the deceased on the fateful morning of March 17, 2021.

“The evidence of the defendant that he ran to a mountain top and saw a pastor who advised him to report his fears to the chairman of the street is a failed ploy to rely on insane delusion.”

The Star