A DELTA High Court sitting at Ughelli Judicial Division has sentenced one David Tamarakpo Pade to death by hanging and two of his accomplices to a total of 19 years in jail with hard labour for armed robbery and kidnapping.
The convicted kidnappers included a popular native doctor, Moses Omiovwobese, who was sentenced to two years in jail for accessory after the fact. He was discharged and acquitted on the other 4 count charges.
Others are 39 year old Happy Opute, driver to the retired Court of Appeal Jurist, Hon Justice A.P.A. Awala, was found guilty only on the count of conspiracy to commit kidnapping and was slammed with a seven year jail term with hard labour while the 2nd accused person, David Tamarakpo Pade was not that lucky as he was sentenced to death after being found guilty of four out of the five count charge, including that of armed robbery.
They were said to have kidnapped the wife of a retired Judge of the Court of Appeal, Mrs. Roli Awala.
The court found the three accused persons guilty on various counts and placed an initial ransom of N50 million but later reduced it to N25 million before she could be released.
The kidnapped victim, 54 years old Mrs. Roli Awala, was rescued from the shrine of a native doctor after a successful rescue operation by the police.
An Assistant Director from the Delta State Ministry of Justice had told the court that the three accused persons with two others now at large, on or about the 5th day of August, 2009 at Ireden Crescent, GRA Warri within the Warri Judicial Division kidnapped one Mrs. Roli Awala and imprisoned her for six days before she was rescued.
He also told the court that they robbed the victim, her husband and daughter of their GSM handsets including their Honda salon car while armed with a gun.
This count, however failed as the court discharged them on the count of demanding property with menace.
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