An Ekiti State High Court has sentenced two convicted kidnappers to death by hanging for their roles in the abduction of a staff member of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), while a third defendant was discharged due to lack of evidence.

The convicts, Ibrahim Abubakar and Abdullahi Abubakar, were found guilty of kidnapping Omoboade Adesina, an NYSC staff member, on April 22, 2022. The pair were arrested and prosecuted by the Department of State Services (DSS) following investigations into the incident.

Delivering judgment, the Chief Judge of Ekiti State, Justice Lekan Ogunmoye, held that the prosecution had established the case against the two defendants beyond reasonable doubt and consequently sentenced them to death by hanging.

However, the court discharged and acquitted the third defendant, Usman Abubakar, after ruling that the evidence presented was insufficient to link him to the crime.

Justice Ogunmoye commended the DSS prosecution team for its thorough investigation and diligent handling of the case. He specifically cited the identification parade conducted by the Service and the analysis of call data records as crucial pieces of evidence that aided the successful prosecution.

The judgment adds to a growing list of convictions secured by the DSS in cases involving kidnapping, terrorism and other violent crimes. It follows recent convictions obtained by the Service in Sokoto and Kogi states, where suspects involved in terrorism, arms proliferation and kidnapping were successfully prosecuted.

Security officials said the conviction reflects the DSS’s commitment to ensuring that perpetrators of serious crimes are brought to justice and face the full consequences of the law.