An Ekiti State High Court has condemned 26-year-old David Isaiah to death by hanging for the murder of Comfort James, a commercial sex worker.
Isaiah was convicted on three counts of murder, abduction, and conspiracy. Justice Olalekan Olatawura presided over the case.
In his ruling on Monday, the court found Isaiah guilty of murder, sentenced him to 21 years in jail for conspiracy, and life in prison for kidnapping.
According to the allegation, on February 6, 2024, in Ado Ekiti, Isaiah and his accomplice, Saviour Daniel, who passed away while the case was still pending, planned to abduct and kill James.
The offences violated Sections 280, 279(a), and 234 of the Ekiti State Criminal Law, 2021, the prosecution, led by Ibironke Odetola, informed the court.
Ado Ekiti, the director of Afrika Brothel in Irona, testified during the trial that James vanished after calling her coworkers to report her kidnapping and the N100,000 ransom demand from her captors.
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“I reported the matter to the police and Civil Defence. Their lines were tracked, and they were later arrested. They took officers to the location where they dumped her body,” he said.
Odetola called six witnesses and tendered several exhibits, including the defendant’s confessional statements, the deceased’s pictures, a pair of slippers, SIM cards, and a bottle of herbicide.
In his statement, Isaiah admitted to the crime, telling the court he and others tied the victim’s hands and neck. When ransom efforts failed and fearing she had seen their faces, they poured herbicide into her mouth, leading to her death. He called no witnesses in his defence.
In his ruling, Justice Olatawura said the prosecution had proved its case beyond a reasonable doubt.
“Consequent upon the foregoing, the defendant is found guilty as charged. Any sympathetic consideration in favour of the defendant cannot therefore be justified,” he declared.
“The judgment of this court upon you is that you be hanged until you are dead. May God have mercy on your soul,” the judge pronounced.
