The Ekiti State High Court has sentenced a 26-year-old man, David Isaiah, to death by hanging for murder.
Justice Lekan Olatawura delivered the judgment on Monday, May 5, 2025, at the court sitting in Ado Ekiti.
The court found Isaiah guilty of conspiracy, kidnapping, and murder of one Comfort James, a commercial sex worker.
The convict was arraigned on April 18, 2024, on a three-count charge of conspiracy, kidnapping, and murder.
The court confirmed that Isaiah acted alongside an accomplice, Saviour Daniel, who died in February 2024.
According to the prosecutor, Ibironke Odetola, the offences violated Sections 280, 279(a), and 234 of Ekiti State Criminal Law, 2021.
The incident occurred in Irona, Ado Ekiti, within the court’s jurisdiction.
During the trial, the Director of Afrika Brothel testified that the deceased was last seen the night before her death.
He told the court that the victim called her colleagues, claiming she had been kidnapped and tied up.
She also informed them that her abductors were demanding a ransom of N100,000.
The brothel director reported the case to the police and Civil Defence Corps in Ado Ekiti.
Officers tracked the suspects through mobile phone records and arrested them shortly after.
The suspects later led security agents to the location where the victim’s body was dumped.
Prosecutors presented the defendant’s statements and physical evidence during the trial.
Exhibits included the victim’s photos, her slippers, SIM cards, burial warrant, and a bottle of herbicide.
Isaiah confessed in court that he and his friend had sex with the victim before calling her friends for ransom.
When the ransom failed, they tied her hands and neck and poured herbicide in her mouth to silence her.
The victim died shortly after the poisoning, the court heard.
Justice Olatawura ruled that the prosecution proved its case beyond reasonable doubt.
The judge sentenced Isaiah to 21 years for conspiracy, life imprisonment for kidnapping, and death by hanging for murder.
He said, “You are to be hanged by the neck until you are dead. May God have mercy on your soul.”
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