The Delta State High Court sitting in Ibusa has sentenced three persons to death for killing the traditional ruler of Ubulu-Uku kingdom, Obi Edward Akaeze Ofulue 111, nine years after his death.

The three defendants, Suleiman Musa 2nd, Garba Abubakar 3rd, and Haruna 4th, were sentenced to death by hanging while the 1st defendant, Jemilu Ahmed, was jailed for five years and 14 years respectively.

Obi Ofulue was in January 2016 murdered after he was kidnapped by gunmen along the Ubulu-Uku-Obior Road.

In her judgement, the presiding judge, Justice M. O Omovie, held that the prosecution had proved beyond reasonable doubt the 10 counts against the defendants.

“Having listened to the prosecution case with evidence, the court upholds that the prosecution has proved beyond reasonable doubt the 10 counts against the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th defendants.

“The 1st defendant is hereby sentenced to five years and 14 years without an option of fine in respect of the two counts against him. Both terms would run concurrently.

“The 2nd, 3rd and 4th defendants are hereby sentenced, among other terms, to death by hanging on the neck,” the judge declared.

Speaking after the judgment on Tuesday in Asaba, Mrs. J.E Odogun, who led other prosecutors through the defence and adoption of final written address, applauded the judgment.

She said, “On January 6, 2016, the defendants conspired among one another to kidnap, rob and consequently murdered one Obi Edward Akaeze Ofulue 111, who was the king of Ubulu-Uku.

“It was established that the defendants conspired among one another, robbed at gunpoint and kidnapped one Charles Afamefun Ugboh on January 6, 2016.”

Odogun stated that the witnesses confirmed the involvement of the defendants.

Despite massive hunger in Nigeria, N2.2trillion was spent for the payment of ransom in one year.

The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said the payments were made between May 2023 and April 2024.

According to the NBS’s latest Crime Experience and Security Perception Survey report published on Tuesday, 65 per cent of households affected by kidnapping paid ransoms for the release of their loved ones from the abductors’ den.

“The average amount paid as ransom was ₦2,670,693, with an estimated total ransom of ₦2,231,772,563,507 paid within the reference period,” the NBS report read.

It said kidnapping incidence was estimated at 2,235,954 nationally with results showing that rural areas (1,668,104) recorded more kidnappings than urban areas (567,850).

Further analysis by zones revealed that North-West had the highest cases (1,420,307), followed by North-Central (317,837), while the least was recorded in South-East (110,432),” it said.

Of the households that experienced kidnapping, the survey indicated that 80.5 reported it to the police.

“The South-South zone had the highest reporting rate at 100 percent, followed by North-Central at 89.6 percent, while North-West was least reported at 73.9 percent,” the report noted. “Disaggregated by place of residence, urban areas recorded 87.1 percent compared to 77.3 percent in rural areas.”

A further analysis of the report showed that some of the abducted persons were killed, while others were released.

It showed that of the reported cases of kidnapping, 82.1 percent were released,
12.8 percent were killed and 3.3 percent were still in captivity.

The study indicated that “About 91 percent of kidnapping incidents were done for ransom in the form of money, goods, or other benefits.

“Also, 2.4 percent of cases were attributed to political, criminal, or terrorist objectives, while 2.1 percent were linked to personal or family disputes. Custody disputes accounted for 0.5 percent of cases”.

On the overall crime rate in Nigeria, the NBS survey suggested that North-West region had the highest incidence of crime. There were 14.4 million reported cases in the region. This was followed by the North-Central region with 8.8 million.

However, the South-East region recorded the lowest number of reported crimes. It had 6.18 million incidents in the period under review.

Stories about abductions are rife in some parts of Nigeria. From mass abductions in schools to the killing of abductees, the crime seems to have become a business venture for gangs.

Despite government reassurance and that of security agencies, the situation, experts believe, has not been minimally reduced.

The federal government has endorsed N30 billion for the nation’s 30 universities of agriculture to immediately commence mechanized farming.

The announcement came with a directive for specialized universities to focus strictly on their core mandates and cease offering programs unrelated to their original purpose.

Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, disclosed this on Tuesday in Abuja while declaring open a retreat organized by the Ministry of Education for pro-chancellors of federal universities.

Dr. Alausa emphasized the importance of universities of agriculture owning and operating mechanized farming systems. He revealed that each university would receive N1 billion as a take-off grant for the initiative.