The dethroned monarch of Magodo loses his appeal as the court upholds his conviction for orchestrating a fake kidnap. Read the full story.
On Monday, the Lagos Division of the Court of Appeal upheld Mutiu Ogundare’s conviction for orchestrating his own kidnapping. The former Baale of Shangisha had been dethroned.
On September 27, 2022, Ogundare was sentenced by Justice Hakeem Oshodi of the Lagos State High Court in Ikeja to serve a prison term of fifteen years.
Ogundare was not content with the verdict of the lower court and thus sought to challenge it. Yet, Justice Peter Bassi presided over an appellate court that upheld counts one and two’s conviction while expunging count three’s legal decision. Justices Bayero along with Folashade Ojo were part of this team who concurred with their lead colleague’s opinion.
Justice Bassi acknowledged that Ogundare’s appeal was partially successful, resulting in a reduction of his sentence to 12 years. The breakdown of the new sentence involves serving ten years for count one and two more years for count two. Moreover, the decision overturns the penalty imposed on him regarding false representation made during kidnapping release negotiations in connection with count three.
On July 16, 2017, Ogundare was placed in Kirikiri Prison after being accused of fabricating his own abduction. The Lagos State government brought charges against him and two others – his wife Abolanle and brother Opeyemi Mohammed – for conspiracy, breach of peace, as well as falsely claiming to have been kidnapped.
Ogundare and his brother were found guilty by Justice Oshodi on June 15, 2022. The sentencing was postponed until September 27, 2022. When given the opportunity to speak during allocution, Ogundare’s lawyer Olarewaju Ajanaku appealed for mercy stating that Ogundare had reformed and acted without fully comprehending the impact of his deeds.
Dr. Olayinka Owoeye also pleaded for mercy on behalf of Mohammed, emphasizing that his client had gained valuable insights from the ordeal.
On July 5th, 2017, a planned abduction occurred where Ogundare subsequently confessed to security officials that he was behind the kidnapping. His motive in orchestrating this event was blackmailing the state government. According to reports, Ogundare claims being taken hostage by three male individuals while traveling along Centre for Management Development Road within Ikosi-Isheri Local Council Development Area.
The supposed land deal meeting turned into an abduction scenario where Ogundare was driven away by the alleged kidnappers, leaving his brother behind who raised an alarm.
Following the occurrence, Akinwunmi Ambode, who was then serving as governor of Lagos State, instructed for Ogundare to be removed from his position as Baale of Shangisha.
