An Ado Ekiti High Court sentenced 25-year-old Gabriel Emmanuel to life imprisonment for kidnapping monarch Oba Adeniran Omotayo.
The court also sentenced him to three years for extortion after convicting him of the crime.
Following a trial that began on March 8, 2023, Justice Adekunle Adeleye delivered the final verdict.
Emmanuel originally faced three charges: murder, kidnapping, and extortion, but was acquitted of murder and kidnapping.
Prosecutors confirmed Emmanuel, aided by fugitive accomplices, kidnapped the Eleda of Eda Ile Ekiti. The crime occurred on June 24, 2020.
During testimony, Oba Omotayo recounted armed men with AK-47 rifles abducting him at his Eda Ile settlement. The court dismissed no evidence.
This ruling underscores Nigeria’s intensified crackdown on violent crimes, emphasizing justice for victims and accountability for perpetrators nationwide.
“I was with them for four days,” Oba Adeniran testified. “They used my wife’s phone to contact my relatives and demanded a ransom. Eventually, my brother paid ₦1.28 million for my release.”
During the ordeal, the kidnappers occasionally removed their masks, enabling the monarch to identify them. This revelation strengthened the victim’s testimony.
Separately, prosecutors charged Emmanuel and accomplices with murdering Jejelowo Fesobi David in a prior September 13, 2020 attack.
Furthermore, on November 20, 2021, Emmanuel and others allegedly demanded ₦4 million from Barrister Joseph Olorunfemi under threat.
The offenses contravened sections 316 and 319(1) of the Criminal Code Law, Cap.C16, Laws of Ekiti State, 2012, as well as Section 3 of the Ekiti State Kidnap and Terrorism (Prohibition) Law, 2015.
During the trial, prosecutor Ibironke Odetola presented four witnesses and submitted key evidence, including call logs and statements from both the defendant and victims.
Justice Adeleye affirmed the defendant’s voluntary confessions matched witness evidence. Additionally, he confirmed their alignment with prosecution findings.
In his ruling, he emphasized phone logs corroborated the complainant’s testimonies. Furthermore, confessions consistently supported proven prosecution evidence.
This coherence underscores the case’s integrity, ensuring judicial outcomes reflect truth and procedural rigor.
In all, I find that the prosecution has established the ingredients of the offenses charged.”
The court sentenced Gabriel Emmanuel to life imprisonment for kidnapping and an additional three years for demanding property with menace. The verdict underscores Ekiti State’s commitment to enforcing its anti-kidnapping and anti-terrorism laws to ensure justice and public safety.
