Dismissed Soldier, Civilian to Die by Hanging Over Armed Robbery
A dismissed soldier, Lance Corporal Promise Okokon Usoro, and one Odinaka Emmanuel Victor have been sentenced to death by hanging for armed robbery.
In a judgement delivered by Justice Archibong Archibong of the Akwa Ibom State High Court sitting in Uyo on Thursday, the culprits were sentenced to death for robbing tricycle operators, popularly known as keke riders, at gunpoint in the capital city.
It was learnt that Lance Corporal Promise Okokon Usoro, dismissed from 6 Battalion, Nigerian Army, Ibagwa Barracks, in Abak Local Government Area, Akwa Ibom State robbed one Peter Daniel Okon at gunpoint of his tricycle along Idoro Road, Uyo, on February 10, 2013.
Usoro, a 41 year-old indigene of Ikot Osom in Abak, who was said to be armed with AK-47 during the robbery, had earlier faced a court-martial which led to his dismissal from the army before he was handed over to the Nigeria Police for prosecution.
In his confessional statement, Usoro admitted that he participated in at least three armed robbery operations targeting tricyclists in Uyo, alongside an accomplice identified as JJ, who is currently at large.
He confessed that one of the stolen tricycles was sold by JJ, and he received a share of ₦50,000 from the proceeds.
The second convict, Odinaka Emmanuel Victor, 32 years-old from Osisioma in Abia State, also confessed that he robbed his victim, Anyanwu Chidi Francis, along Ikot Ekpene Road, Uyo, with an AK-47 rifle in the company of the dismissed soldier on February 14, 2013.
Odinaka stated in his extrajudicial statement that he was involved in a tricycle snatching operations in Port Harcourt, led by one Engr. Obuigwe.
He said he was contacted by a gang member, James, on February 10, 2013, who brought him to Uyo in a Passat car for an operation, where they picked the dismissed soldier at the barracks and proceeded to rob a tricyclist.
Odinaka was later arrested with the stolen tricycle, while the others fled.
The convicts were tried alongside a third accused person, Ndifreke Willie Udo, a 37-year-old native of Odoro Ikot in Essien Udim Local Government Area, who was residing in Port Harcourt at the time of the incident.
In his judgment, the trial judge, Justice Archibong Archibong held that the prosecution had proved its case beyond reasonable doubt against Lance Corporal Usoro and Odinaka Victor.
The court however discharged and acquitted the third defendant, Ndifreke Udo, for lack of sufficient evidence linking him to the crime, and sentenced Promise Okokon Usoro and Odinaka Victor to death by hanging.