The Supreme Court has upheld death sentence for kidnappers after affirming the conviction of Delta-based kidnapper Chelynor Halim for armed robbery and kidnapping. In a unanimous judgment delivered on Friday, a five-member panel of the apex court dismissed the convict’s appeal, ruling that it lacked merit.
The case stemmed from the abduction of Joan Osemene on February 9, 2014, in Delta State. Court records showed that Halim and other members of a kidnapping gang forcefully took the victim to an undisclosed location in Ibusa, where she was subjected to threats, assault, and robbery.
A High Court sitting in Asaba convicted Halim in 2017 after finding that the prosecution had established his involvement in the crimes through evidence and witness testimony. The court subsequently imposed a death sentence by hanging, a decision that was later challenged through the appellate process.
During the trial, the victim testified that Halim slapped her and threatened her with a gun before covering her nose with a cloth containing a substance that caused her to lose consciousness. She further told the court that the gang leader, identified as Edozie Obude, grabbed her by the throat, struck her neck with a metal object, and ordered that she be searched.
According to her testimony, the gang seized her ATM card and N10,000 cash. They later withdrew N55,000 from her account using the stolen card. The victim said her hands and legs were tied before she was abandoned at another location. After freeing herself, she escaped and ran to a major road in search of help.
In a development that later became crucial to the investigation, the motorcyclist who stopped to assist her was identified as Halim, one of the men involved in her abduction. Upon recognising him, she raised an alarm, prompting bystanders to apprehend him before he could flee. The suspect was subsequently handed over to the Department of State Services (DSS). Investigators later reported that he led operatives to the gang’s hideout, where a shootout resulted in the death of gang leader Edozie Obude.
In the lead judgment read by Justice Chioma Nwosu-Iheme, the Supreme Court held that there was no doubt about the appellant’s identity as one of the gang members. The court ruled that evidence presented during the trial clearly established his presence at the scene of the crime. Consequently, the apex court upheld the death sentence for kidnappers and dismissed appeal SC/CR/913/2022.
The ruling reinforces the application of existing laws prescribing the death sentence for kidnappers and other serious violent crimes. It also comes amid continuing concerns over kidnapping incidents in several parts of the country. Recent abductions involving schoolchildren in Oyo and Borno states have drawn renewed attention to the security challenges facing communities and educational institutions across Nigeria.
