Court sentences dismissed-SARS officer to death for killing businessman, Stealing N.3m

A dismissed member of Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) officer, Joseph Omotosho, who was accused of killing a businessman, Benson Obodeh, and stealing N300,000 from his bank account, has been sentenced to death by hanging by a High Court sitting in Benin, the capital of Edo State.

Omotosho, who was attached to the defunct SARS team of the Edo State Police Command, reportedly killed Obodeh, a car dealer, in 2015 and went ahead to withdraw the money from the deceased account after obtaining his ATM pin number before his death.

Justice Ohimai Ovbiagele described testimonies provided by the claimant as firm and almost unchallenged, adding, “Therefore, the judgment was based on absolute fact, which the court absorbed as presented by the prosecuting counsel and all witnesses that appeared before the court.”

The judge pointed out that the convicts could not substantiate counter-evidence against the charges levelled against them.

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Omotosho was also handed another seven years’ imprisonment for his role in the stealing of the deceased’s money from his bank accounts.

The deceased was said to have been listed among suspected criminal gangs, who allegedly stole a Peugeot car.

The prosecuting counsel, Abraham Oviawe, said, “What happened today is a confirmation of the biblical position that says the wages of sin is death. So, when one conspires to take the life of another man, with overwhelming evidence, the court has no option but to reach the verdict it reached.”

On his part, the counsel for the convicts, Lede Pique, said the judgment would be appealed.