For instigating mayhem at the Iwo Road interchange, Ibadan which claimed many lives, including that of Adekunle Oladipupo, a medical student, former Chairman of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) in Oyo State, Alhaji Lamidi Mukaila (Auxiliary) and four other accused persons were, on Monday, convicted and sentenced to six years imprisonment by an Oyo State High Court sitting in Ibadan.
Jailed with Mukaila were Saheed Kareem, Abu Kareem, Kazeem Kayode and Taiwo Tijani.
After their conviction was pronounced by Justice Eni Esan of the Ring Road High Court, counsel to the accused persons, Mr. Olalekan Ojo, said his clients would appeal the judgement.
Ojo averted that since the court had acquitted and discharged his clients of murder and attempted murder, the conspiracy for which they were convicted, did not exist.
Justice Esan said the accused persons were arraigned on a three-count charge of conspiracy, murder and attempted murder and that the first prosecution witness, Akeem Agbaje, in his evidence, told the court he was beside Adekunle Adedipupo on the said day when the accused persons with others at large stormed the motor park in a Peugeot 604 belonging to Mukaila and two other Micra cars, shooting sporadically.
Agbaje, in his evidence- in- chief, went further that it was during the shooting that bullet hit the deceased who died immediately and that he too, sustained serious injuries.
Justice Esan also said that during cross examination, the PW 1 told the court that although the incident occurred around 9:45pm, he was able to identify the accused persons with the help of head lights of the cars that lit up the place.
The judge said he was not convinced that the witness could identify the accused persons using the head lights.
On the allegations of attempted murder, the trial judge held that since the argument of the PW 1 had failed by identifying the accused through vehicle head light, the charge could not stand because it was already late in the night.
“The court, hereby, discharged the accused persons on the murder charge”, Justice Esan said.
The Judge held that the accused persons both in their evidence- in-chief and statement to the police agreed that the first accused person (Mukaila) is their leader and also said they had been meeting in his Diamond Hotel at Alakia Isebo, Ibadan.
The court ruled that since the first accused person admitted that he owned guns and the accused were caught in a car with rounds of bullet, they were guilty of conspiracy and, therefore, sentenced them to six years imprisonment each.
The prosecution counsel from the Director of Public Prosecution, Abdul Ganiyu, concurred with the judgement while Lekan Ojo, counsel to the accused, pleaded with the court to reduce the jail term of Mukaila because he was a first offender who has a family to cater for.
“My client is a first offender; he is a family man who has his children to take care of. He also has an aged mother. In view of this, I plead with your Lordship to reduce the jail term”, he said to no avail.
