Court sentences 2 men to death for killing cleric

A Benue State High Court in Makurdi has sentenced two men to death by hanging for the murder of Rev. Fr Alexandra Adeyi. The duo of Suleiman Goma and Haruna Idi Adeyi were convicted for the 2016 murder of the cleric, a former Vicar-General of Otukpo Catholic Diocese. Both convicts of Orokam in Ogbadibo local […]

A Benue State High Court in Makurdi has sentenced two men to death by hanging for the murder of Rev. Fr Alexandra Adeyi.

The duo of Suleiman Goma and Haruna Idi Adeyi were convicted for the 2016 murder of the cleric, a former Vicar-General of Otukpo Catholic Diocese.

Both convicts of Orokam in Ogbadibo local government areas of the state were said to have conspired with one Saidu Abdullahi and Aliyu Garba now at large and kidnapped the late Reverend Father at Otukpo on April 26, 2016.

Delivering judgment yesterday, the trial judge, Justice Aondover Kakaan, held that the prosecution, which called eight witnesses, had proved its case beyond all reasonable doubts.

The trial judge held that evidence before the court showed that the convicts committed the crimes.

Kakaan further said the court was told that three guns and charms were recovered from the convicts at the time and place of arrest in the forest.

The judge also held that the first convict, Goma in his statement tendered in court, admitted that he bought the guns for the purpose of armed robbery and kidnapping

In the suit filed by the Inspector-General of Police, the prosecutor, Mr Simon Iough, told the court that the  convicts took the former Vicar-General of Otukpo Catholic Diocese to Okumgaga forest in Okpokwu Local Government Area of Benue where they demanded for a ransom of N2 million.

He said though the sum of N1.5 million was paid as ransom, the convicts and Abdullahi and Garba (now at large), went ahead and killed the clergyman and dumped his corpse in the forest.