After six years of legal proceedings, the Edo State High Court sitting in Benin City has delivered judgment in the murder and kidnapping case involving the late legal practitioner, Barrister Iyoha Osobase, with five defendants sentenced to death by hanging while one defendant was discharged and acquitted.
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 successfully proved its case against five of the defendants beyond reasonable doubt.
The court consequently convicted the five defendants on charges bordering on conspiracy, kidnapping and murder, imposing various prison terms and sentences, including 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 against him.The court, accordingly, discharged and acquitted him of all counts.
The judgment brought to a close one of the most closely watched criminal trials in Edo State, arising from the abduction and killing of Barrister Osobase, who was reportedly attacked, beaten to death and buried in a shallow grave in Aduwawa, Benin City, on May 9, 2020.
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 defendants 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.
The case also 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 thorough investigation and prosecution of those responsible for the lawyer’s killing.
With Wednesday’s verdict, the court effectively brought to a close, a criminal trial that had remained a reference point within Edo State’s legal community since 2020.
