An Akure High Court has sentenced a man, Aturoti Adeleke to death by hanging. Justice S. A. Bola while delivering the judgement said Aturoti was found guilty of armed robbery and rape. According to the prosecution led by Remi Olatubora, the convict robbed his victims; all women of their monies and valuables around 27 and 29 May, 2016 at about 1 a.m. and 3 a.m. at Olorunsogo Street, Adesula and Ademulegun road, Ondo. He was said to have also raped some of his victims after robbing them of their monies and valuables such as jewelries and phones, the charges the convict pleaded not guilty to.
While giving his testimony, the police witness said that the case was first investigated by the divisional police station at Funbi Fagun, Ondo before it was transferred to the State Criminal Investigation and later on to the Special Anti-Robbery Squad, Akure. One of the victims, Abebi Adegoroye while testifying before the court said that the convict came into her room around 2 a.m. asking for money. She said that he was not masked during the operation and that she saw his face clearly as there was electricity during the night.
She said that when she told him that she had no money, he tied her down and raped her and later searched her room and took away her N48,000. She further told the court that she could identify the defendant by the first finger on one of his hands which was stiff.The third victim while testifying told the court that the defendant robbed her of N47,000 and also wanted to rape her despite the fact that she told him she was pregnant. She claimed that she had seen his face when he took out a gas lighter to light his cigarette.She claimed that when she was going to drop her children in school the following morning, she saw the convict behind a truck at tipper garage. She then alerted the police at Fagun police station who arrested him.
The third victims said that she knew the convict as he had lived in their house and that her mother, one Hon. Desola Oyeneyin had fed him on several occasions.The fourth victim, Bola Adedutire who was also robbed and raped by the convict said that he came into her room while she was sleeping and ordered her to remove her underwears and allow him to have sexual intercourse with her or else he would kill her four months old baby. She said that she subsequently submitted to him.Another witness, one Jegede Abayomi, a police officer from Funbi Fagun station said that the convict also robbed one Toyin Ijitimehin, a manager at a petrol filling station of her valuables when he accosted her on a motorcycle and threatened her with a gun.
Hon. Desola Oyeneyin who was also a victim and a mother to the third victim said she was praying in her room around midnight when she heard someone knocked at her door telling her to open the door as thieves were outside. She explained that when she opened her door, she recognised him as the boy that she used to care for.She expressed her shock when he pointed a gun at her demanding that she bring out all the money she had in the house. She said that he took away her jewelries and money.The convict denied ever been involved in any of the crimes he was alleged to have committed though he admitted to be familiar with the third and the sixth victims as they had took care of him when he was young.
He claimed that he had a National Diploma in Marketing and lives at Yaba, Agbogbo Oke in Ondo. He professed to be an upcoming pop artiste. He claimed to have been at a mini-mart having fun with his friends when he was arrested by the police.Following these testimonies, the judge stated that there were three indisputable facts such as the defendant owns the boxer shots admitted as exhibit which the victims claimed he wore when he robbed and raped them, the third and the sixth victims were known to him prior to the commission of the offence and the stiff fingers which the victims testified about indeed was a permanent feature on the defendant as it was established by the court.
He observed that with the identification parade, the testimonies of the complainants were consistent, the evidences constituted in the testimonies of the witnesses had been established in the case and further described the accused person as a threat to the society and a serial rapist.While holding that the prosecution had proved its case beyond reasonable doubt and declaring him guilty of all the charges, he stated that the law provides that rape attracts life imprisonment while armed robbery attracts a death sentence and thereafter sentenced the accused in the same manner.
– THE HOPE
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