Justice Abiodun Akinyemi of Abeokuta High Court 5 yesterday condemned two vigilante members, Seyi Oyeneye and David Oyedele to death after finding them culpable in the killing of a herbalist, Semiu Babatunde in Abeokuta, Ogun State.
The incident, which happened in Olorombo village in January 2006, according to the Director of Public Prosecution, DPP, Oludayo Osunfisan, was one of conspiracy and murder against the deceased.
Defending its case with charge number AB/20c/2008, the prosecutor told the court that the two accused persons committed offence of conspiracy to commit murder and murder contrary to sections 324 and 316 respectively and punishable under Section 319 of the Criminal Code law of Ogun State, 2006.
The two accused persons had upon arraignment in 2006 pleaded not guilty to the two count charge filed against them in the court.
The prosecution told the court that the two accused persons on the said day accosted the deceased at 9pm while on the way to his house with his younger brother and ordered them to stop.
The deceased was said to have retorted the order leading to an argument between the two groups.
The accused persons were said to have dragged the deceased with his walking stick which latter appeared to be a concealed sword and later wounded one of the accused persons and he (accused) raised a false alarm to call the attention of the people in the neighbourhood.
A police patrol team led by a former DPO of Ibara Police Station was said to have later got to the crime scene and demanded the removal of a road block mounted by the vigilante but were threatened by the later.
The police officer, who later disarmed the men, observed the deceased person tied at a corner of the road in his own blood and ordered the photograph of the scene to be taken before he was taken to Federal Medical Center, Idi-Aba, Abeokuta.
Semiu was said to have died at the gate of the hospital even before being attended to by the doctors.
The prosecutor told the court that the circumstantial, direct and confessional evidences before the court proved the guilt of the accused persons to the two count charge.