Ekiti Kidnap Case Ends in Death Sentence. Two Men to Hang for Abducting NYSC Staff
It started on April 22, 2022. A normal day. Then Omoboade Adesina, a staff member of the National Youth Service Corps in Ekiti State, was taken.
Four years later, a courtroom went silent.
On Thursday, an Ekiti State High Court sentenced two men — Ibrahim Abubakar and Abdullahi Abubakar — to death by hanging for her abduction. The ruling, delivered by Chief Judge Justice Lekan Ogunmoye, brings a long and painful wait to an end.
A third man, Usman Abubakar, walked free. The court said there wasn’t enough evidence tying him to the crime.
How it unraveled
According to the judge, the case didn’t just rest on accusations. It leaned heavily on an identification parade conducted by the Department of State Services (DSS). Even more crucial were the call data records — phone trails that quietly told their own story.
Justice Ogunmoye praised the DSS prosecutors. They proved the case beyond reasonable doubt, he said. Not just arrests. Not noise. Evidence.
And that made the difference.
A pattern forming
This isn’t happening in isolation.
Recently, a Sokoto High Court handed death sentences to three men convicted of terrorism and cross-border arms trafficking. In Kogi, another kidnap conviction followed DSS investigations.
The agency says its intelligence-driven strategy is why more cases are ending in convictions. Slowly but steadily, the courtroom outcomes are matching the arrests.
The message feels direct. Maybe even blunt: Kidnapping has consequences. Severe ones.
For Omoboade Adesina and her family, this judgment closes a chapter that dragged for four years. Justice delayed, but not entirely denied.
For Ekiti residents, it’s a reminder — abduction now carries the ultimate penalty. And the state, it seems, isn’t blinking.
Oluwaseun Musa Lawal is an Editor at REPORTERS ROOM with over eight years of professional journalism experience. He specializes in reporting on politics, climate change, health, and education, while also covering security, economic, and judicial affairs. His work is driven by a commitment to accuracy, balanced reporting, and public-interest journalism.
