Court Sends 21-Year-Old Houseboy to Gallows for Brutal Murder of Employer in Ondo

The Akure Division of the Ondo State High Court has sentenced a 21-year-old domestic worker, Emmanuel Akpan, to death by hanging for the gruesome murder of his employer, Febisola Caroline Adedayo.

Delivering judgment in the case marked AK/57C/2022, Justice Rotimi Olamide found Akpan guilty of murder, ruling that the prosecution had proved its case beyond reasonable doubt.

Akpan was tried alongside Goodness James Akpe on charges of conspiracy and murder brought by the Ondo State government under relevant provisions of the Criminal Code Laws of Ondo State, 2006.

The court, however, discharged and acquitted Akpe, citing insufficient evidence linking him directly to the crime.

According to the prosecution, the incident occurred on March 29, 2021, at Ifakanbale Street in the Sabo area of Ondo town, where the victim, a food vendor, was attacked in her residence.

Prosecuting counsel, led by Olubunmi Koyenikan and represented by Abimbola Ayodele and Ifedamola Adaramola, told the court that the defendants conspired to kill Adedayo after discovering she had money in her home.

Akpan was said to have inflicted fatal machete wounds on the victim, leading to her death. The court also heard that the suspects attempted to cover up the crime by setting the house ablaze to create the impression of a gas explosion.

In his ruling, Justice Olamide held that witness testimonies presented by the prosecution were credible, consistent, and remained unshaken under cross-examination. He also relied on the confessional statements of the defendants in reaching his verdict.

The judge dismissed the defendants’ denials, noting that their claims were contradicted by overwhelming evidence before the court.

Describing the act as “cruel and inhuman,” the court emphasized that the crime was particularly disturbing given that the deceased had previously assisted the convict.

Akpan was consequently sentenced to death by hanging, while his co-defendant was freed.