An Osun State High Court in Iwo has sentenced an Islamic cleric, Kabiru Ibrahim, to death by hanging for killing his client, Lukman Adeleke.
Justice Lateef Adegoke gave the judgment on Wednesday after finding Ibrahim guilty of conspiracy, murder, and theft. The judge said the evidence presented by the prosecution proved the case beyond reasonable doubt.
A statement from the Information Officer of the Osun State Ministry of Justice, Opeyemi Bello, revealed that the case was handled by a prosecution team led by Abiodun Badiora.
According to the statement, the victim, Lukman Adeleke, had gone to the cleric for spiritual help because he wanted to buy a piece of land. The cleric asked him to bring the money for prayers before making the payment.
However, Adeleke went missing shortly after the visit. His family later found out that the last time he was seen was when he visited Ibrahim.
“When the family confronted the cleric, he denied seeing Adeleke in the past two weeks. But a community member said he personally took the victim to Ibrahim’s house a day before he disappeared,” the statement said.
The matter was reported to the police, and during investigation, Ibrahim confessed to killing Adeleke. He led the police to the Ilesa/Akure expressway, where the victim’s body was found inside a sack. One of his palms had been cut off.
Photographic evidence was shown in court. The prosecution also told the court that the cleric had stolen ₦300,000 from Adeleke on August 24, 2016.
Six witnesses were called, and several items were presented in court, including Ibrahim’s confession. The cleric’s lawyer did not respond to the final written argument of the prosecution.
In his ruling, Justice Adegoke sentenced Ibrahim to seven years in prison for stealing and ordered that he be hanged for the murder of Adeleke.
