Prince Adewale Oyekan, son of the late Oba of Lagos, Adeyinka Oyekan, has been sentenced to death for the murder of Sikirat Ekun, a businesswoman and politician.
An Ikeja High Court on Monday sentenced to death the 50-year-old prince and a 27-year-old former domestic servant, Lateef Balogun, over the murder of the 62-year-old.
The case was first heard in court on April 14, 2015.
The prince was said to have hired Mr Balogun for N6,000 to murder Ekun.
The convicts, who have been in custody for seven years, strangled Ekun and threw her corpse in a 1,000 feet well in her home.
Justice Raliatu Adebiyi, in a two-hour judgment, held that the prosecution proved the charges of conspiracy to commit murder and murder beyond reasonable doubt.
She said: “The circumstantial evidence was strong and cogent; the act of the defendants in killing the deceased was intentional and premeditated.
“The court finds that the prosecution has proved beyond reasonable doubt the offences of conspiracy and murder and are accordingly found guilty of the two-count charge.”
The court heard that the convicts committed the offences on October 17, 2012 at the home of the deceased located at No. 5, Babatunde Lalega St., Omole Phase One, Lagos.
The prosecution said that the deceased was a restaurateur who knew Oyekan due to her friendship with his late mother.
“To render assistance to the prince, Ekun employed him as the manager of her restaurant. Balogun, the second defendant, was a former domestic staff of Ekun, who was employed by her to take care of her elderly father,” prosecutor Akin George said.
He added that Balogun’s employment was, however, terminated following a dispute with Ekun.
The convicts had the woman killed and took over her businesses and properties.
