An Ekiti State High Court sitting in Ado Ekiti has handed a combined 30-year prison sentence to two young graduates convicted of kidnapping a student of the Federal University Oye-Ekiti (FUOYE).
The convicts, Ojo Babajide, 31, and Olajide Nathaniel, 35, who had just completed their studies when the crime was committed in March 2022, were each sentenced to 15 years behind bars—10 years for kidnapping and an additional 5 years for conspiracy. The jail terms are to run concurrently starting from May 21, 2025.
According to court records, the duo was arraigned on July 19, 2022, on charges of conspiracy and kidnapping, offences which violated Sections 279 and 280 of the Ekiti State Criminal Law, 2021.
The victim, a FUOYE undergraduate who also operated a hair salon, recounted his ordeal in a statement to police. He explained that he was at his shop around 7 p.m. on March 23, 2022, when the defendants approached him and forced him into a waiting vehicle.
He was initially taken to an unknown location in Oye Ekiti and later moved to a hotel on Ikere Road in Ado Ekiti, where he was compelled to pay for his own lodging via mobile bank transfer. His abductors then demanded a ransom of ₦1 million from his family. However, only ₦101,000 could be raised through calls to relatives.
When it became clear that the ransom wouldn’t be fully paid, the victim said he was stripped and beaten with a horsewhip, resulting in severe bruises before he was eventually freed.
Prosecuting counsel Kunle-Shina Adeyemo presented the court with statements from both the victim and the accused, along with the bond for the victim’s release. The defence, led by Akinola Abon, pleaded for leniency, arguing that the accused were recent graduates preparing for their National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) programme.
In his ruling, Justice Adeniyi Familoni stated that kidnapping remains a persistent problem in society despite efforts to curb it. He said the convicts made a deliberate choice to engage in criminal activity and must therefore face the consequences of their actions.
“They are not entitled to mere leniency for such a grave offence,” the judge declared. “They must be punished appropriately to send a clear message and deter others.”
Justice Familoni sentenced them to five years in prison for conspiracy and ten years each for kidnapping, with the terms to run concurrently.
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