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From Lateef Dada, Osogbo
Two men convicted of armed robbery in Osun State have been sentenced to death by hanging, while a Federal High Court in Abuja has ordered Faisal Maina, son of former Chairman of the Pension Reform Task Team, Abdulrasheed Maina, to begin serving his prison sentence for money laundering.
In Osogbo, the Osun State High Court sentenced Toriola Abel and Adeola Adebowale to death by hanging for conspiracy and armed robbery committed in 2014 around the Kelebe area of the state capital.
The court, presided over by Justice Yinka Aderibigbe, on Thursday, found the defendants guilty on a two-count charge after holding that the prosecution had proved its case beyond reasonable doubt.
According to the prosecution, led by Wuraola Mosunmola, the convicts conspired with an accomplice, who is still at large, to carry out the robbery.
During the trial, the prosecution called witnesses and tendered incriminating exhibits, including a locally made gun, which the court admitted in evidence.
In his plea for mitigation, defence counsel, Ifedayo Olowoyo, urged the court to temper justice with mercy, arguing that the convicts were first-time offenders with no previous criminal records and could still make positive contributions to society if given another chance.
He told the court that the two men had spent the past 12 years in custody since their arrest in 2014 and had shown signs of rehabilitation.
Olowoyo particularly disclosed that the second convict was already a 300-level student of the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN), studying through correspondence and nearing the completion of his degree.
“I believe that the convicts will still be useful and be a lesson to the younger generation after them,” he pleaded.
However, Justice Aderibigbe held that despite their prolonged detention and apparent rehabilitation, the statutory punishment for armed robbery remained death under the applicable law.
The judge consequently sentenced both men to death by hanging.
Nevertheless, noting that no life was lost during the robbery and considering their conduct during more than a decade in detention, the judge recommended that the state governor consider granting them the prerogative of mercy.
In a separate case in Abuja, the Federal High Court has ordered Faisal Maina to be committed to a correctional centre to serve his prison sentence for money laundering and failure to fully disclose his assets.
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Justice James Omotosho made the order on Wednesday after granting an ex parte application filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), seeking a warrant for Faisal’s commitment to the Nigeria Correctional Service.
Moving the application, EFCC counsel, M.K. Hussain, urged the court to enforce the conviction and sentence imposed on the defendant in line with the judgment of the Court of Appeal.
The commission also requested that his prison term should commence from October 14, 2026, when he was rearrested by operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS) in the Karsana area of Abuja.
Faisal was subsequently handed over to the EFCC, about six years after he jumped bail and disappeared during his trial.
Granting the application, Justice Omotosho directed that he should serve three years’ imprisonment on count one, seven years on count two and three years on count three.
The sentences are to run concurrently and take effect from October 14, 2026.
Faisal was arraigned in 2019 on a three-count charge bordering on money laundering and failure to make full disclosure of his assets in a declaration form. He pleaded not guilty before the then trial judge, Justice Okon Abang.
However, he later jumped bail and stopped attending court proceedings, prompting the court to continue his trial in his absence.
On October 7, 2021, Justice Abang convicted him and sentenced him to five years’ imprisonment on counts one and three, and 14 years on count two, with the sentences to run concurrently.
The court also ordered his arrest wherever he might be found and his transfer to a correctional centre to serve his sentence.
Faisal challenged the judgment, but the Court of Appeal upheld his conviction while reducing the sentences in its judgment delivered on November 24, 2022.
The appellate court reduced the sentences to three years on counts one and three, and seven years on count two.
His father, Abdulrasheed Maina, was separately convicted in a money laundering case involving about N2 billion and has since completed his prison sentence.
