An Oyo State High Court sitting in Ibadan has sentenced five men to death for the murder of a taxi driver, Akeem Shittu, during a dispute in 2024.
Justice Oyeyemi Ajayi found Segun Taiwo (36), Kehinde Ademola (46), Yahaya Adeniyi (45), Chinonso Samson (41), and Opadotun Michael (32) guilty of conspiracy and murder, ruling that the evidence clearly established their joint involvement in the crime.
“I am of the considered view that the court could safely infer conspiracy in the acts that led to the death of Shittu,” the judge said.
Before handing down the death penalty, the court first sentenced each of the defendants to 20 years’ imprisonment for conspiracy. They were then convicted of murder and sentenced to death by hanging.
State Counsel K. K. Oloso told the court that the incident began on April 10, 2024, when Shittu’s vehicle lightly collided with a motorcycle carrying two passengers at Elepe, Arulogun Road in the Ojoo area of Ibadan.
The parties moved to a nearby pub to discuss the matter, but tensions escalated.
A disagreement overcompensation soon turned violent. Shittu was restrained, prevented from leaving, and later attempted to escape.
The prosecution said he was eventually caught and fatally assaulted by the defendants.
Police investigators later traced Shittu’s taxi and personal effects to a shop belonging to a relative of one of the convicts.
The prosecution noted that their offences violated Sections 316, 319, and 324 of the Criminal Code Laws of Oyo State 2000, which prescribe penalties for conspiracy and murder.
In a similar ruling last year, an Osun State High Court sentenced Wasiu Afolayan (36) and Kola Adeyemi (34) to death for conspiracy and armed robbery.
They had been charged under Section 3(1) of the Robbery and Firearms (Special Provisions) Act, Cap R.11, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004.
