In a Lagos State High Court session held in Ikeja yesterday, two individuals, Clement Ododomu and Tiwei Monday, were found guilty of conspiracy and murder involving seven officers from the Department of State Security (DSS).
This incident occurred at the Ishawo Creek in the Ikorodu area on September 14, 2015.
The presiding judge, Hakeem Oshodi, delivered the verdict but deferred their sentencing until November 14, taking into consideration the pleas made by the convicts.
The court determined that the first defendant, Ododomu, was guilty of conspiracy to commit murder, murder, possession of firearms, and felony.
Meanwhile, the second defendant, Monday, was found guilty of conspiracy to commit murder and felony.
The trouble began on September 14, 2015, when the DSS received a distress report from an editor of the Sun Newspaper regarding the kidnapping of his wife at their residence.
In response, a nine-man team was dispatched to conduct a surveillance operation to locate the kidnappers who were negotiating a ransom.
Unfortunately, that evening, one team member, Mr. Martins Ajayi, sent a distressing text message indicating that they had been ambushed by vandals who had seized their weapons.
Subsequently, the two suspects were arrested and faced a 10-count charge related to murder and possession of firearms, as stipulated in Section 223 and 298(3) of the Criminal Law, Cap. C.A Vol. 3, laws of Lagos State 2015.
They initially pleaded not guilty, leading to the commencement of the trial.
However, Justice Oshodi’s judgment revealed that the defendants’ claim of being in Lagos for their grandmother’s funeral was unsubstantiated, as they failed to provide essential witnesses to support this claim.
The court also found that the prosecution couldn’t prove the murder charge against the second defendant, indicating that it was one Agbala, who remained at large, and the first defendant who killed the DSS operatives.
Consequently, the court acquitted the convicts on counts 2, 3, 4, 6, and 8 due to the prosecutor’s inability to substantiate these allegations.
However, the court upheld that Ododomu was guilty of counts 1, 5, 7, 9, and 10, which included conspiracy to commit murder, murder, possession of firearms, and felony.
Monday was found guilty of counts 1 and 10, involving conspiracy to commit murder and felony.
Following the court’s guilty verdict, the defense counsel requested leniency in sentencing, while the prosecutor and Director of Public Prosecution (DPP), Dr. Babajide Martins, urged the court to impose the stipulated convictions based on the charges filed against the defendants.
