Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti state – An Ekiti state high court sitting in Ado Ekiti has sentenced a 41-year-old man, Olasunkanmi Kareem, to life imprisonment.
The convict was jailed eternally for attempting to murder his former boss by setting him ablaze.
As reported on Wednesday, April 2, by The Punch, Kareem was arraigned on November 18, 2024, on a one-count charge of attempted murder.
The Guardian also noted the court’s verdict.
According to the charge sheet:
“The defendant, on August 11, 2024, at Ifaki Ekiti, attempted to murder one Omoboriwo Bashiru by setting him ablaze.”
Narrating his ordeal before the court, the victim Bashiru said:
“The defendant was once my apprentice at my mechanic workshop. Even after he graduated, I continued to assist him whenever he had issues with customers’ cars.
“On that day, he called me around 8 pm, asking about a carburetor I had helped him repair. When I told him I didn’t see it, he became abusive and threatened to set me ablaze wherever he found me. I thought he was joking. Later, I called him, and he told me where he was.
“We met at a vulcanizer’s workshop, and an argument ensued. Unknown to me, he had a gallon of petrol in his hand. Since it was dark, I didn’t see it until he poured it on me. When I realised it was petrol, I tried to run, but my body was already on fire. I fell into a drainage before some passersby rescued me and put out the fire. I suffered severe burns and was rushed to the hospital.”
How Ekiti convict lured victim
Delivering judgment, Justice Jibril Aladejana held that Kareem had lured the victim to a location, ambushed him behind an electric pole, and doused him with petrol before setting him on fire.
Aladejana added before sentencing Kareem to life imprisonment:
“The facts before the court show that the defendant deliberately set out to harm the victim. But for the intervention of passersby, the victim would have died. This intentional act of causing grievous bodily harm amounts to attempted murder,” the judge ruled.
“In my view, the defendant does not deserve leniency. He should face the full wrath of the law.”
Man allegedly kills mother, sister in Ekiti
Earlier, reported that police in Ekiti arrested a man identified as Victor Lorjaal of Aba Ile camp, Itaji-Ekiti, for allegedly mutilating his mother, named Mrs Victoria Lorjaal, and his elder sister, named Brenda Lorjaal, to death.
The police public relations officer, SP Sunday Abutu, confirmed this in a statement.
Abutu stated that Victor Lorjaal, a resident of Aba Ile camp, Itaji-Ekiti, was working on the farm with a sibling when he suddenly left and approached his mother and sister at a distant location.
