21st October, 2014
Jethro Ibileke/Asaba
Two men, James Emmanuel and Isioma Egwu, a carpenter and a bus driver respectively, were Monday sentenced to a total of 56 years in jail by an Asaba High Court, for robbing a female Civil Servant of her Honda Accord car.
The Court presided over by Justice Cletus Emifoniye, found the accused persons guilty on a two count charge of conspiracy to commit robbery and the substantial offence of robbery, punishable under Sections 516 and 402 of the Criminal Code Laws Cap C21, Volume I Laws of Delta State, 2006.
Prosecutor from the Delta State Ministry of Justuce, Champion Umukoro, an Assistant Chief Counsel, had told the Court that James Emmanuel (m) age 30 and Isioma Egwu (m) age 27, on or about the 26th of September, 2012 at Asaba within the Asaba Judicial Division, robbed their victim, Mrs. Obi Sally, of her car.
The Court heard that though the convicted robbers carried out the robbery act without firearms, but through violence.
The victim, a Senior Civil Servant, was said to have gone to drop her friend along Anwai road when the incidence happened when a three man gang accosted her while reversing her car after dropping off her friend, forcefully opened her car door and pushed her out and drove off in the car.
The car was later recovered at Lagos after two days by operatives of Nigeria Police through intelligence gathering from where it was parked. The two accused persons in their confessional statements to the Police admitted to have committed the offence but denied same during trial.
The Judge while sentencing the convits, committed them to 7 years each on count one (conspiracy) and 21 years each on count two (robbery).
The sentences are however to run concurrently.