A Delta State High Court has sentenced a man to 16 years in prison after convicting him of conspiracy to commit arson and related charges. Justice O.F. Enenmo, presiding over the court in Kwale, ruled that the sentences for the counts should run concurrently, resulting in a total of 10 and six years.
Two other defendants who were tried alongside the convict, Efajemue Israel, Aziakpono Prince Eseoghene, and Omote Efe, were acquitted of all charges. The trio faced a seven-count charge, which included conspiracy to commit a felony, specifically arson, as well as malicious damage. These charges fall under sections 516, 443, and 451 of the Criminal Code Laws, C21, Volume 1, Laws of Delta State of Nigeria 2006.
The prosecution, led by Patrick Okoh, a director in the Delta State Ministry of Justice, presented six witnesses and submitted ten exhibits to the court. The defendants were accused of conspiring with others, who remain at large, to commit these crimes on April 15, 2023, in Ibrede, Ndokwa East Local Government Area, Delta State, within the Kwale Judicial Division.
According to the prosecution, the accused individuals willfully and unlawfully set fire to buildings and destroyed household properties, including vehicles worth millions of naira. The properties belonged to several individuals, including HRH Aruhor Mowe Gregory, Itive Ovie John, Akpokieren Blessing, and Victor Akokomebe.
In their defense, the defendants denied the allegations. However, the court found that the prosecution successfully proved the charges of conspiracy to commit felony and arson against the first defendant beyond a reasonable doubt. Consequently, he was sentenced to six and ten years imprisonment with hard labor for counts 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5.
The court acquitted the first defendant on counts 6 and 7, which pertained to malicious damage. The second and third defendants were acquitted of all charges.
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