Justice Ibrahim Yusuf of Kwara State High Court has sentenced three persons to death by hanging over the rape and murder of a 300-level undergraduate of the University of Ilorin (UNILORIN), Omowumi Olajide.
Two other accused persons were sentenced to six years in prison while three were discharged and acquitted.
Olajide was raped and murdered at her Tanke residence around the University of Ilorin on June 2, 2021.
Eight suspects including accomplices were arrested by operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS) in connection with the crime.
Abdulazeez Ismail, Moses Oluwatimileyin and Oyeyemi Omogbolahan are the major suspects accused of raping and murdering Olajide.
The trio alongside two others were also accused of stealing her property and withdrawing money from her account while three others involved in using Olajide’s stolen phone to make calls were also co-defendants in the case.
Delivering his judgement, Justice Ibrahim Yusuf found the trio of Azeez Ismail, Moses Oluwatimileyin and Oyeyemi Omogbolah of rape, robbery and culpable homicide.
He sentenced them to death by hanging.
Three defendants, who were accused of receiving the stolen phone and making calls with it, were lucky to be discharged and acquitted.
The case, which started in July 2021, saw the court filled with relatives of both the accused and the dead victim.