A Kwara State High Court, sitting in Ilorin, has sentenced three artisans to death by hanging for the murder of a mechanic, Saheed Lawal, in Offa Local Government Area of the state.

The convicts, Isiaka Jimoh, Lekan Ahmed, and Adebayo Saheed, were found guilty of culpable homicide after they tortured Lawal to death over allegations of motor oil theft.

The Kwara State Ministry of Justice prosecuted the trio for conspiracy and culpable homicide, an offence punishable by death under Section 221 of the Penal Code, CAP. P4, Laws of Kwara State.

The prosecution, led by the Director of Public Prosecutions, Ayoola Akande, told the court that the convicts committed the crime on November 5, 2020, at a mechanic workshop near Government Day Secondary School, Amuyo, Offa

The court also heard that the convicts attempted to kill another artisan, Hamzat Ibrahim, by pouring hot red pepper into his ears during the same incident.

Delivering judgment on Thursday, Justice Adebayo Yusuf ruled that the prosecution proved its case beyond reasonable doubt, having called eight witnesses, including the Chief Medical Director of State General Hospital, Of Dr O. M. Abdulsalam, who testified that Lawal was dead on arrival at the hospital.

“From the evidence before the court, the three defendants were responsible for the death of Saheed Lawal, who was their colleague at the same workshop in Offa,” Justice Yusuf stated.

He thereafter sentenced the convicts to death by hanging.

“The three defendants are to die by hanging until they breathe their last. May God have mercy on their souls,” Justice Yusuf declared.