An Ondo State High Court sitting in Akure has sentenced a vulcaniser, Wasiu Ibrahim, to d3ath by hanging for the m8rder of one Joseph Odunayo over alleged theft of a mobile phone.

The judge, Justice Ademola Enikuomehin, convicted Ibrahim on charges of murder and conspiracy to murder, holding that the prosecution proved its case beyond reasonable doubt.

The court also sentenced the convict to two years imprisonment for conspiracy.

The prosecuting counsel, D.S. Msonter-Shagba, told the court that the offences were committed on December 31, 2024, at Continental Road, Akure, following the alleged theft of an Infinix mobile phone belonging to one Lekan Falohun on December 25, 2024.

According to the prosecution, Odunayo was accused of stealing the phone and was subsequently apprehended by Lekan and some other persons, including the convict.

Upon his arraignment on November 25, 2025, Ibrahim pleaded not guilty to the two-count charge.

To establish its case, the prosecution called six witnesses and tendered six exhibits, including the testimony of Lekan’s mother, Mrs Taiwo Falohun, the owner of the allegedly stolen phone.

Evidence before the court showed that Odunayo was compelled to lead his captors to the person who allegedly bought the stolen phone. During the process, he reportedly jumped from a moving motorcycle and sustained injuries.

However, after he was recaptured on December 31, 2024, he was allegedly tied up and brutally beaten by Ibrahim, Lekan and other persons who are still at large.

Witnesses told the court that despite pleas from family members and community leaders, the assailants continued to assault the deceased.

The deceased’s brother, Emmanuel Sunday, testified that Ibrahim played a leading role in the assault, adding that the convict continued beating Odunayo even after he had collapsed.

Another witness, Bose Ojo, told the court that she saw Ibrahim push the deceased out of a vehicle and repeatedly beat him with a plank.

The prosecution further informed the court that when the badly injured victim was eventually taken to a police station, officers declined to detain him because of his critical condition and instead directed that he be taken to a hospital for treatment.

Odunayo later d!ed at a police clinic.

Although no autopsy was conducted, Justice Enikuomehin held that the eyewitness accounts and the chain of events clearly established that the severe beating inflicted on the deceased caused his death.

The judge rejected Ibrahim’s defence that he was merely a commercial motorcyclist (okada rider) hired by Lekan and the deceased and had no role in the assault.

In his judgement, Justice Enikuomehin held that the testimonies of eyewitnesses who identified Ibrahim as one of the assailants remained unshaken throughout the trial.

He condemned mob action and extrajudicial punishment, describing them as unacceptable in a society governed by the rule of law.

The judge also urged the police to intensify efforts to arrest Lekan Falohun and other suspects at large in connection with the incident.

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Pronouncing the sentence, Justice Enikuomehin said, “You, Wasiu Ibrahim, shall be hanged by the neck until you are dead, and may the good Lord have mercy upon you.”