Ekiti Court Sentences 3 to Death by Hanging for Robbing 87-Year-Old Woman

The Ekiti State High Court in Ado-Ekiti delivered a fateful verdict on Monday, 27 October 2025, sentencing three convicts to death by hanging for their ruthless robbery of an 87-year-old woman, spotlighting the perils faced by the elderly in quiet communities.

Shadrack Apos, 30, Lucky Akpos, 33, and Adunola Precious, 24, stood trial before Justice Lekan Ogunmoye after their arraignment on 19 August 2024 on charges of conspiracy and armed robbery, stemming from a chilling intrusion on 12 June 2024 in Ifaki Ekiti, where they allegedly stole ₦147,000 and a wristwatch from victim Victoria Folorunso, brandishing a gun and wooden planks in violation of Sections 421 and 321(2)(b) of Ekiti State’s Criminal Laws 2021.

Folorunso’s courtroom account painted a scene of terror, as she awoke at 1:00 am to two unmasked intruders in her bedroom—one jamming a gun against her forehead, the other gripping a plank—demanding all her money and ransacking her home. They seized ₦100,000 from hiding and another ₦47,000 tucked in her underwear, along with a treasured wristwatch from her children and her phone, which they briefly took before returning it.

Under threat of execution, she revealed a ₦3 million bank balance, only for the robbers—familiar with her house help, Precious Adunola—to order her to withdraw it the next day and pass it via Adunola by 11:00 am, all without forcing the door, suggesting an inside job. Silenced by warnings of kidnapping and death, Folorunso endured harassing calls until she alerted her children, unraveling the plot.

Prosecutor Kunle-Shina Adeyemo fortified the evidence with two witnesses, presenting the convicts’ confessions, a search warrant, a wooden gun prop, and sundry exhibits that exposed the seamless conspiracy. The defence, via lawyers Oluwatoyin Marcus and Mitchel Aribisala, offered one witness apiece, but these efforts crumbled under scrutiny.

In his ruling, Justice Ogunmoye highlighted Adunola’s complicity in granting entry to the shared dwelling, affirming the prosecution’s airtight case of premeditated robbery proved beyond doubt. Declaring all three guilty, he mandated they be hanged by the neck until deceased, tempering the decree with a plea for divine mercy on their souls. The sentence reverberates through Ekiti, a stark warning to predators preying on the defenceless amid rising calls for bolstered community safeguards.