Bizarre: Judge Sentence Vulcaniser To Death By Hanging For Stealing N57,000

A 32-year-old vulcanizer identified as Chidozie Onyinchiz was sentenced to death by hanging on Tuesday by an Ikeja Special Offenses Court presided over by Justice Mojisola Dada for stealing a nurse of N57,000.

Onyinchiz faced three counts of conspiracy, armed robbery, and membership in an illegal organization. According to Justice Dada, all three counts were proven by the prosecution.

According to Dada, the defendant’s efforts to escape the allegations were ineffective.

She claimed that the reason for this was that he had previously told the police in Igando, Lagos, that his victim, Mrs. Veronica Uwayzor, had seen him and they had both recognized one another at the time of the offense.

The defendant had stated that the complainant pointed at him as one of the boys armed with a pair of scissors and forcefully snatched her bag containing N57,000 at Akesan Bus Stop.

“The complainant had stated that neither the defendant nor his accomplice, Ediri Endurance, (still at large) wore masks which made it possible for her to easily recognize Onyinchiz a few hours after the robbery.

“The first statement of the defendant which he made at Igando Police Station confirmed that he and Ediri went to Akesan Bus Stop on the day of the robbery.

“Onyinchiz admitted to belonging to an unlawful society as he stated that: `this is my first time coming to Akesan to steal. I was initiated into Eiye Confraternity in 2009 but I have not killed before.’

“The same information of him being a vulcanizer was also contained in the statement he made at Igando police station and the one he made at the Special Anti-Robbery Squad office at Ikeja.

“In his confessional statement, Onyinchiz stated that he met Ediri Endurance on a public bus and Endurance took him to his father’s house after the bus developed a fault.

“He also stated that they ended up sleeping in an uncompleted building because Endurance’s father did not open the door for them to spend the night in his house.

“The statement corroborated the submission of the victim that she was accosted at about 4.30 a.m. by two boys holding an iron rod and a pair of scissors on the day of the incident.

“She said the two boys were the ones who robbed her.

“The totality of the evidence before the court is compelling and I find the defendant guilty of the charges preferred against him.

“He is hereby sentenced to death by hanging and may God have mercy on his soul,’’ Justice Dada said.

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The court had previously been informed by the state’s attorney, Mrs. Afolake Onayinka, that the defendant committed the crimes on August 12, 2018, with a companion who is still at large.

According to Onayinka, the defendant robbed the complainant, who then fled into a white robe church. She claimed that Onyinchiz was apprehended while Endurance managed to flee after the shepherd of the church informed local landlords of the situation.

The 2015 Lagos State Criminal Law, according to Onayinka’s submission, was violated by the offenses.