A Delta State High Court sitting in Kwale has convicted and sentenced eight persons, including an ex-soldier, to a total of 104 years imprisonment for the kidnap of the Speaker of Delta State House of Assembly, Chief Monday Igbuya.
It will be recalled that Chief Igbuya was kidnapped on May 21, 2009 at Sapele, Sapele Local Government Area of the state and released by his abductors on May 27, 2009. The convicts are Godspower Ikoro, Godspower Omoniyi (ex-soldier), Ernest Atteh, John Adapamu, Ife Freedom, Sunday Uba Tiemo, Kemi Koinyang and Isaiah Mumbor.
They were tried on a six-count charge of conspiracy to commit a felony to wit, kidnapping, robbery and the substantive case of kidnap of Monday Igbuya and demanding N100 million as ransom.
The convicts, who were charged to court after their arrest by security operatives, were later transferred from the State High Court sitting in Sapele, in 2011, to Kwale for trials.
The trial judge, Justice O. Jaloggo-Williams, found the accused persons guilty on the count of kidnapping and demanding property with malice and sentenced them to 10 years each for kidnapping, with hard labour, and three years imprisonment each, for demanding N100 million with malice.
Holding that the sentences are to run concurrently, Justice Jaloggo-Williams, however, discharged them on the count of robbery for lack of sufficient evidence by prosecution.
