Court Jails Two Vandals for Murder of Seven DSS Officers
A Lagos State High Court has convicted two members of a group of pipeline vandals for murdering seven operatives of the State Security Service (SSS).
Justice Hakeem Oshodi, convicted Clement Ododomu and Tiwei Monday after finding them guilty of a 10-count charge of murder and possession of firearms contrary to Sections 223 and 298 (3) of the Criminal Law, Cap. C. A Vol. 3, Laws of Lagos State, 2015.
The court found Ododomu (the first defendant) guilty of conspiracy to commit murder and possession of a firearm with the intent to commit a felony.
Monday (the second defendant) was found guilty of failing to report a crime and conspiring to murder.
According to the Lagos State government, in 2015, the SSS agents Uzor Nwafor, Kayode Oladimeji, Luke Akande, Adebayo Adeniyi, Benjamin Mafo, and Simeon Owolabi and one other were killed and buried.
During the trial, Saheed Adetunji, an investigation officer, testified before the court that seven out of nine people dispatched on a kidnapping rescue mission were ambushed by vandals and taken hostage at Abule Oba.
He stated that the first defendant took the seven SSS personnel to their hideout in the creeks, called Barracks.
Adetunji also identified the 2nd defendant, Monday, as a member who used the teargas on the personnel. He also recalled one Godwin Oweli and Prince Sunday as other perpetrators.
“He said that when they got to their Barracks, he shot two SSS personnel with a pump-action rifle, while one Agbala shot the remaining five with an AK47.
“The dead bodies were buried in three separate graves. The first defendant said that some Ijaw boys dug the graves. Three slim operatives were packed in one. And the bigger ones were put in twos into the other graves,” Adetunji stated.
The judge, Oshodi, ruled that the prosecution established some elements of the case against the two convicted individuals beyond a reasonable doubt.
Additionally, the judge disregarded their alibi, calling it unreliable and an afterthought.
He further stated that their efforts to refute their confessional statements were ineffective and that the evidence before the court demonstrated the voluntariness of the extrajudicial statements.
But the judge postponed sentencing until November.
The Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) has pleaded with the court to sentence the offenders to the maximum term to make it clear that the state would not accept the killing of anyone, especially officers performing their official duties.
He also used the opportunity to renew his demand that the secret police find Agbala, suspected of shooting five of their personnel.
