Ekiti Court Jails Man 84 Years for Attempted Murder, Robbery, Rape

A High Court in Ekiti State has sentenced a 33-year-old man, Oluwatuyi Bidemi to 84 years in prison for attempted murder, robbery, kidnapping, and rape.

Justice Adeniyi Familoni handed down the sentence without an option of fine after he was convicted on four-count charges.

Bidemi, the prosecution claimed, attacked a civil servant, Abiodun Agnes, on her way to work, dragging her into a bush and subjecting her to a horrific ordeal.

The victim testified that Bidemi strangled her around the neck, pushed a handkerchief into her mouth, and made away with her valuables, such as her wristwatch, phone, and ATM cards.

He then raped her and shaved off her armpit and private part hairs, leaving her unconscious for a few hours in the bush.

Agnes narrated her harrowing experience, explaining that she was unable to cry for help since there was something stuffed into her mouth and was rescued by some people walking around who noticed that she was crawling out of the bush. The defendant was then arrested by the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) in Omuo-Ekiti, based on Agnes’s description.

The prosecution presented four witnesses, corroborated by medical reports and testimonies that confirmed the victim’s evidence. Bidemi’s counsel, Charles Ayobioloja, asked the court to exercise leniency, but Justice Familoni held that the prosecution had proved the defendant’s culpability beyond reasonable doubt.

In his judgment, Justice Familoni sentenced Bidemi to 21 years imprisonment on each of the four charges, and the sentences were to run concurrently from the time he was arrested and held.