71-year-old retired Colonel has been jailed for 25 years over the killing of one Felix Esan in Ekiti State.
The retired Army Officer, Richard Ogunboyo was sentenced on Tuesday, by a High Court sitting in Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State.
The convict, who was the head of a vigilante group in Iyin Ekiti, was said to have committed the offence on December 15, 2016, in the community. .
Justice Lekan Ogunmoye, in his judgement, said the charge of murder against the convict could not be substantiated, but a case of manslaughter was established. .
“Considering his age and the discretion of the court, he is hereby sentenced to 25 years imprisonment without an option of fine,” Ogunmoye ruled.
The police prosecutor, Seyi Akomolafe, had told the court how an eyewitness alleged that the retired soldier and other vigilante members came to the deceased’s compound on the allegation that a thief was taking refuge in the house.
He said, “Ogunboyo sighted Esan and confronted him for being rude and disrespectful because he refused to stand up while a search of the compound was being conducted. .
Furiously, he brought out his dane gun and shot the deceased. Esan’s corpse was later found in a deep pit along the Awo-Ekiti Road.” .
In the course of the case, the Director of Public Prosecutions, Ekiti State, Gbemiga Adaramola, called 7 witnesses, including a medical doctor who carried out a post-mortem examination on the deceased.
Photo: Mercy Babs Communications