Four bag death penalty for murder in Bayelsa 

A Bayelsa State High Court sitting in Yenagoa has sentenced four men to death for the murder of a taxi driver, Mr. Olarenwaju Ajayi, sometime in 2001.

The judgment delivered on Thursday by Justice Patience Ziofa Diri of Bayelsa State High Court 11, Onopa, Yenagoa in Suit No YHC/21C/202, State versus Sunday Imoh Essien, Opena Akpabio, Odogha Ebi, and Clifford Michael.

The court found the defendants guilty of conspiracy, murder and armed robbery and sentenced them to death.

Court findings said the convicts had chartered Mr. Ajayi, a commercial taxi driver operating between Yenagoa and Port-Harcourt, under the guise of attending a naval programme at Onne, Rivers State in Rivers State.

On the fateful day, the late Ajayi picked the foursome up at Agudama-Epie, Yenagoa and headed to Onne.

But at Okogbe in Rivers State, under the pretence of relieving himself, the first defendant, Sunday Imoh, asked the driver to stop the vehicle.

As the vehicle stopped, the other occupants of the vehicle launched a coordinated attack on Ajayi; they held his neck, used a marine rope to tie him and stabbed him to death.

The court said, “After committing the act, they disposed of the body of the deceased and drove the stolen vehicle to Uyo, Akwa-Ibom State, where they sold it for N450,000.00.

Commenting on the judgment, the Bayelsa State Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr. Biriyai Dambo, SAN affirmed that the “state is committed to upholding justice.”

Biriyai stressed that the conviction underscores the Bayelsa State Government’s “zero-tolerance policy toward crime and its unwavering commitment to ensure that criminals face the full weight of the law.”