Justice Abiodun Adesodun, on Wednesday, convicted and sentenced Efi following his prosecution by the state.
A High Court in Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State has sentenced one Efe Efi to 10 years' imprisonment for illegal possession of a firearm.
Justice Abiodun Adesodun, on Wednesday, convicted and sentenced Efi following his prosecution by the state.
However, she found him not guilty of attempted murder and robbery.
The judge said: “A case of unlawful possession of firearm had been proved beyond a reasonable doubt. The prosecution was able to establish the elements needed to link the accused person with the crime and he is accordingly sentenced to 10 years' imprisonment, but the offender, being a first offender, is given a sum of N20,000 as an option of fine.
“Ingredients of attempted murder and robbery could not be substantiated against the accused person. You are accordingly discharged and acquitted.”
During the trial, L. E. Ojo, the prosecution counsel, from the Department of Public Prosecution (DOO), called a witness, while the counsel to the defendant, Owoseeni Ajayi, had no witnesses.
Ojo also tendered the statement of the accused person as an exhibit.
He said: “The convict made spirited attempt to rob a man, Adewumi Osasuna, a commercial motorcyclist (Okada rider) and student of Ekiti State University, who conveyed him from Ijigbo to Moferere on his motorcycle and was arrested by residents after the other accomplice, who shot the victim, had fled.
“When the accused person got to Moferere, he tied the plaintiff with a rope, while a man who emerged from a nearby bush pointed a pistol at the Okada rider and asked him to surrender his motorcycle.
“After shooting into the air, the Okada man resisted, while the second person, who was not available for prosecution, shot the victim and this made him raise the alarm before residents trooped out to apprehend the convict. The other accomplice fled the scene.”
The DPP accused and charged Efi for attempted murder and robbery after he was arrested at Moferere area of Ado- Ekiti on October 27, 2016.