A Court in Akure, Ondo State has sentenced a man, Gbenga Akintola, to 21 years imprisonment for involvement in robbery.
Akintola was apprehended by the Amotekun command and the police in Ondo town in 2021 for using dangerous weapons such as cutlasses to rob three individuals of their money and valuables. He was later charged and brought before the court on five counts, including conspiracy to commit armed robbery and armed robbery.
Police prosecutor, Inspector Alako Abdulahi, testified that the Amotekun Corps brought Akintola to the police station on October 19, 2021, with four mobile phones, a motorcycle, a bag, and a small purse retrieved from him. However, the convict argued that he bought the motorcycle from a man named Sunday Igbo, and he was not aware that it was stolen. He also claimed that the stolen items were found in Sunday’s house, but Sunday was nowhere to be found. he stated that the police threatened to charge him with robbery if he did not pay N200,000 to secure his release.
Justice William Olamide delivered the verdict, acquitting the convict of charges two, four, and five due to insufficient evidence to link the cutlass found in his house to the robbery charge.
However, the court found him guilty of conspiracy and robbery and sentenced him to 21 years in prison for robbery and seven years for conspiracy, to be served concurrently.
