Two young men have been sentenced to a combined 30 years in prison by the Ekiti State High Court in Ado Ekiti for kidnapping a student of the Federal University Oye Ekiti (FUOYE).

The court delivered its judgment on Thursday, finding Ojo Babajide (31) and Olajide Nathaniel (35) guilty of conspiracy and kidnapping.

The defendants, both of whom were fresh graduates at the time of the incident in March 2022, were handed 10 years each for kidnapping and five years each for conspiracy. The sentences are to run concurrently, beginning from May 21, 2025.

They were first arraigned on July 19, 2022. The charge stated that the duo conspired on March 23, 2022, in Oye Ekiti, to kidnap one Atana Emmanuel. The offences were said to have contravened Sections 280 and 279 of the Criminal Law of Ekiti State, 2021.

In his account to the police, the victim explained that he had been in his hair salon around 7 p.m. when the two men approached and forced him into a waiting vehicle. “I initially refused, but I was forced to do their bidding,” he said.

According to him, he was first taken to an unknown location in Oye Ekiti before ending up in a hotel along Ikere Road in Ado Ekiti. There, he said, he was made to pay for the hotel lodging through a mobile transfer.

“They asked me to call my relatives to pay a ransom of one million naira for my release.

Through phone calls, I was able to raise N101,000,” he recounted.
The victim added that when the kidnappers realised they would not get more money, they ordered him to remove his clothes and flogged him with a horsewhip, leaving him with serious bruises before releasing him.

During the trial, the prosecution, led by Kunle-Shina Adeyemo, called one witness and submitted statements from the victim and defendants, along with a bond to release, as evidence.

The defence counsel, Akinola Abon, pleaded for leniency, stating that the men were fresh graduates preparing to begin their National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) at the time of their arrest.
The defence called three witnesses.

In delivering judgment, Justice Adeniyi Familoni noted the persistent threat of kidnapping in the region and the need for strong deterrence.

“The incidents of kidnapping in our communities appear unabated despite genuine and concerted efforts being made to curb the vice,” he said.

The judge added, “The defendants willingly but unwisely choose to join the vice train; therefore, they cannot escape the consequences.

In this vein, they deserve more than a slap on the wrist as the penal sanction for their misdeed to serve as a deterrent to others.”

Justice Familoni pronounced that the two men would serve five years for conspiracy and 10 years for kidnapping, without the option of a fine.