On Tuesday, Chidozie Onyinchiz, 32, was found guilty of robbing a nurse of N57,00 in a special offenses court in Ikeja presided over by Justice Mojisola Dada. He was sentenced to death by hanging.
Onyinchiz was accused of conspiring, committing an armed robbery, and belonging to an illegal organization, according to Justice Dada. These charges were all proven true.
The inmate's attempt to escape the charges, according to Dada, was fruitless.
This, she claimed, was the case because he had previously told the police in Igando, Lagos, that his victim, Veronica Uwayzor, had seen him and recognized him at the scene of the crime.
"The defendant had stated that the complainant pointed at him as one of the boys armed with a pair of scissors and forcefully grabbed her bag containing N57,000 at Akesan Bus Stop," Dada said.
"The complainant had stated that neither the defendant nor his accomplice, Ediri Endurance, (who is still at large), had on masks, allowing her to recognize Onyinchiz shortly after the robbery.
"The defendant's initial statement, which he provided to the Igando Police Station, established that he and Ediri visited the Akesan Bus Stop on the day of the robbery.
"Onyinchiz acknowledged being a member of an illegal society by saying, "This is my first time coming to Akesan to steal. I haven't killed before being initiated into the Eiye Confraternity in 2009. '.
The same information about him being a vulcanizer was also included in the statements he made at the Igando police station and the Special Anti-Robbery Squad office in Ikeja.
Onyinchiz claimed in his confessional statement that he met Ediri Endurance on a public bus, and that Endurance then drove him to his father's house when the bus had a problem.
He added that Endurance's father had refused to let them spend the night in his home, so they ended up sleeping in an unfinished structure.
"The statement supported the victim's claim that she was approached at around 4:30 a.m. m. by two boys on the day of the incident, holding an iron rod and a pair of scissors.
"She claimed that the two boys robbed her.
"I find the defendant guilty of the charges brought against him because the body of evidence in front of the court is strong.
"He is hereby sentenced to death by hanging, and may God have mercy on his soul. ".
The court had previously been informed by the state's attorney, Mrs. Afolake Onayinka, that the defendant committed the crimes on August 1 with a companion who is still at large. 12, 2018.
Onayinka claimed that after the defendant robbed the complainant, she fled into a white robe church.
She claimed that Onyinchiz was apprehended while Endurance escaped after the shepherd of the church alerted local landlords.
According to Onayinka, the offenses were against the Lagos State Criminal Law from 2015. (NAN).