Idowu Adekanye, a middle-aged driver, was charged by the Ondo State Police Command on Friday with killing and kidnapping a businessman named Omololu Olowosoyo in the Irele Local Government Area of Ondo State.
According to Police Prosecutor Taiwo Oniyere, Adekanye committed the crime on January 14, 2023, along Ore-Irele road. He was charged with conspiracy, kidnapping, and murder on four counts.
Oniyere testified in court that the defendant went on a business trip with his boss to Osogbo, Osun state, where he was kidnapped and taken to an undisclosed place.
The defendant was also accused of killing the victim by strangling her with a stick.
READ ALSO: 55-year-old lecturer accused of rape is cleared and released by the court
The offence breaches Sections 316 of the Criminal Code, Cap. 37, Vol. I, Laws of Ondo State, 2006 and Sections 6(b), 2(a), and (b) of the Ondo State Anti-kidnapping, 2010, according to the charge.
In light of the charge, Oniyere urged the court in an application to detain the defendant at the Olokuta Correctional Facility until the Director of Public Prosecutions could offer direction (DPP).
Defense counsel D.S. Akinbo asked that the application be dismissed because his client had already received it on the day of his arraignment and it was not yet prepared for hearing.
The deceased’s family had already demanded justice and a covert probe in a plea to the AIG, Zone 17, by the family lawyer, A.K. Akinbuluma, which caused Magistrate R.O. Yakubu to adjourn the case.
