By James Sowole in Akure
An Akure, Ondo State, High Court has sentenced four members of an armed robbery gang to death by firing squad.
The convicts – Abdurahman Yinusa, Maliki Sanni, Ajayi Saliu and Mohammed Jimoh – were said to be specialists in hijacking petroleum tankers at gunpoint.
The prosecution said the convicts before their arrest in December, 2009, had robbed many people several times on Isua/Idoani expressway in Ose Local Government Area of Ondo State.
According to the prosecution counsel, Mr. John Olowokere, the convicts hijacked a DAF truck with registration number XN 810 ABC laden with 33,000 litres of petrol on the same road.
The convicts were later apprehended by the men of the state police command.
The prosecutor said three of the men drove the truck away to dispense the content while the remaining two led the driver and the conductor to the bush where they were tied until the following day when they had sold the petrol and disposed of the truck.
Further details later
