Blessing Bello, Reporting
AN Edo State High Court sitting in Benin City has sentenced five men to death by hanging for the kidnapping and murder of Barrister Iyoha Osobase, a lawyer whose brutal killing in 2020 sent shockwaves through the state’s legal community.
Delivering judgment in Charge No. B/CD/136C/22, The State versus Valentine Dibie and Five Others, presiding judge Justice Efe Ikpomwonba held that the prosecution had successfully proved its case against five of the six defendants beyond reasonable doubt.
The court convicted the five on charges bordering on conspiracy, kidnapping and murder, imposing various prison terms alongside the death penalty by hanging.
However, Justice Ikpomwonba found that the evidence presented against the second defendant, Solomon Esuike, was insufficient to sustain the charges. The court accordingly discharged and acquitted him of all counts.
A Killing That Shook The Legal Profession
The judgment brings to a close one of the most closely watched criminal trials in Edo State, arising from the abduction and killing of Barrister Osobase. The lawyer was reportedly attacked, beaten to death and buried in a shallow grave in Aduwawa, Benin City, on May 9, 2020.
The case attracted national attention following public interventions and demands for justice by senior legal and political figures, including the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Chief Festus Keyamo (SAN), who had called for a thorough investigation and prosecution of those responsible for the lawyer’s killing.
Sole Acquittal
Esuike’s defence team, led by Douglas Ogbankwa, with A.P. Uzor and S.A. Idemudia, successfully challenged the prosecution’s case against their client, securing the only acquittal among the six who stood trial.
The prosecution was led by former Edo State Director of Public Prosecutions, Orobosa Okunbor, who presented witnesses and other evidence during the lengthy proceedings.
With Wednesday’s verdict, the court has effectively brought to a close a criminal trial that has remained a reference point within Edo State’s legal community since 2020.
