A Delta State High Court sitting in Warri yesterday sentenced one Chijioke Ede, a furniture maker to death by hanging, for robbing a couple and raping their teenage daughter. The condemned armed robber and rapist was arraigned before Justice Marshall Mukoro on a three-count charge of conspiracy to commit armed robbery, armed robbery and rape.
He was found guilty on all the charges and sentenced to death on count one and two while he got life imprisonment on the charge of rape.
Prosecution from the Delta State Ministry of Justice had told the court that Chijioke Ede, age 26, resident at No 17, Iyela Street, Warri with another person now at large, on or about October 12, 2009 at Okoro Street in Warri, off Marine Gate within the Warri Judicial Division, robbed his victims (names withheld) of DVD player, a laptop computer, cash, jewelries and other valuables at gun point and raped their teenage daughter while the parents watched helplessly.
The convict was, however, arrested by a vigilance group in the area as they made to escape with their loot.
Justice Mukoro in his judgement said: “With avalanche of facts and evidences before this court, for the accused to say he was not involved in the crime is laughable and afterthought. For the court to hold the evidence of the accused will amount to denial of justice thereby bringing the Bar and the Bench to disrepute. I thereby uphold the evidence of prosecution as all the ingredients of the offence has been proved beyond reasonable doubt and sentence the accused to death by hanging on count one and two.”