A Military Officer, Dompa Hyellablani, has been convicted and sentenced to death by hanging or by lethal injection for armed robbery in Yola, the Adamawa State capital.
Hyellablani, with forced number 13NA/70/6142, private and served at 351 Artillery in Monguno, Borno state, was convicted on 2 count charge bordering criminal conspiracy and armed robbery.
Hon. Justice Kanyson Lawanson, of Yola High Court slammed the death sentence on the military officer on Thursday, after he was tried and found guilty.
Likewise, the judge has discharged and acquitted a 19 year applicant, Emmanuel Adeka'a, who was arraigned before the court along side the military officer and joined as 1st and 2nd defendants on the same count charge.
According to the prosecution, Dompa and Emmanuel had on 9th September, 2019 while in front of vip restaurant opposite Legend club in Jimeta, Yola North Local Government Area, robbed Rita Harrison, a Staff of State Post Primary Schools Management Board of her vehicle.
Dompa, an indigene of Hong LGA, Adamawa state while armed with offensive weapon, forcefully dispossessed the woman of a her car ( Toyota Camry LE) with registration number: BL 85 LSD Lagos.
NEWS PLATFORM gathered that the convict was enrolled into the Nigeria Army in 2013, and served in Plateau State before he was transfered to Borno state and posted to Monguno where he served until 2019.
In his statement tendered and admitted in evidence, Dompa, told the court that while in Monguno in 2019, the military decided to collect all arms from them, but that he refused to hand over his own due to Boko Haram and held it so as to defend himself.
Few days later, he secured a pass and left Borno to Adamawa where lodged at Jino hotel located at bye pass in Jimeta/Yola on 8th September, 2019, where he met Emmanuel Adeka'a, (2nd defendant) and became friends.
On the 9th September, 2019, the convict asked Emmanuel to escort him to Legend hotel, and that while at the hotel, he also asked him whether he knows how to drive a car and Emmanuel responded that he knows.
Dompa, who was fully dressed in his military uniform and armed with his rifle, saw Rita Harrison, in her car in front of the restaurant where he met her and requested for money to buy food, and that the woman gave him N500.
Thereafter, the officer ordered her to hand over her car key if at all she values her own life, and fired 4 gun shots on the spot and scared the woman and any other person around the area and scampered for safety.
He also threatened to shoot his friend who was also trying to escape for his life and ordered him to come back and enter the car so as to drive them after he successfully dispossessed the woman of her red Toyota camry.
The convict pointed his gun at Emmanuel while forcing him to drive the car to their hotel around 11:30pm.
They were intercerpted by the team of gallant local vigilantes while on their way to the hotel where they taken to Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of the police headquaters Yola, for investigation.
Pronouncing the death sentence on the 29 year Dompa after he pleaded for mitigation of punishment, Justice Kanyson, declared that the prosecution had prove its case against the defendant as charged, and sentenced him to death by hanging or lethal injection.
Justice Kanyson, said that the convict was accorded a rare privilege to serve in the Nigeria Army and entrusted with a weapond to defend/protect and safeguard the nation, but unfortunately decided to use it against innocent citizens.
On the 2nd defendant, the judge held that there was no credible evidence tendered before the court to prove that they acted in concert, saying that there was no conspiracy, agreement or confederacy between Dompa and Emmanuel.
However, he warned Emmanuel who narrowly escaped death sentence to be cautious in life, saying if he fails to so do, one day he will meet his waterloo.
But while pleading with the court to temper justice with mercy, Dompa, who was indeed remorseful, promised that he would not commit any crime again, and that he wants to go back to army.
When asked what actually pushed him into robbery, he told the court that he served in Borno for good 2 years without salary, saying that he was living from hand to mouth, and that the situation became unbearable for somebody fighting the dreaded insurgents.
Reacting on the verdict, A. M. Ularamu(Senior State Counsel II) who appeared along side D. I. Kulthu(SSC II) for the prosecution and F. A. Ogbe, Chief Legal Officer, Nigeria Legal Aid Council, for the defendants, appreciated the court for the judgement.
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