An Ikeja High Court yesterday
sentenced 27-year-old Oluwaseun
Oladapo, to death by hanging for
murdering a Lagos based human rights
lawyer, Mr Kunle Fadipe and his
mother-in-law, Mrs Cecilia Owolabi.
In her judgement, justice Oluwatoyin
Ipaye found Oladapo guilty on a five-
count charge of murder, armed robbery
and assault occasioning harm pressed
against him by the state.
Handing down her sentence, Justice
said: “On count one, you Oluwaseun
Oladapo, is to be hung by the neck till
you are dead.
“On count three, you Oluwaseun
Oladapo, is to be hung by the neck till
you are dead.
“On count four, you Oluwaseun Oladapo
is sentenced to three years in prison.
“On count five, you Oluwaseun Oladapo
is sentenced to three years in prison.
“The terms of imprisonment of counts
three, four and five is that they should
run concurrently. This is the judgment
of the court.”
Earlier before the sentence was passed,
counsel to the convict, Mr Worer
Obuagbaka pleaded for mercy on
behalf of the convict.
“I ask this honourable court to give him
a second chance, he is a young man who
is still useful to society, I urge this
honourable court to please temper
justice with mercy,” Obuagbaka said.
Responding, prosecuting counsel, Mrs
O.A Olugasa said: “The deceased was
not given a second chance, his children
were not given a second chance to have
their father with them.
“I urge the court to give the harshest
punishment to the convict so that justice
can be seen to be done.”
Oladapo, allegedly murdered the
lawyer at 3am on July 4, 2014 at his
residence located at No. 1 Harmony
Estate, Ifako-Ijaiye, Iju, Lagos.
The prosecution was led by Mr Adeniji
Kazeem, the Lagos State Attorney
General and Commissioner for Justice
and Mrs Idowu Alakija, the Director of
Public Prosecution (DPP).
Oladapo, was also charged with the
murder of Mrs Cecelia Owolabi, the
mother-in-law to the late Fadipe, but
the charge of murder was commuted to
assault occasioning harm by the court.
Explaining the reason for why the
murder charge of Owolabi was rejected,
Justice Ipaye said: “The prosecution did
not prove a direct link between the
actions of the defendant and the death
of Madam Cecelia Owolabi.
“He is however, found guilty of the
assault occasioning harm of Madam
Cecelia Owolabi.”
During the trial, the wife of the late
lawyer, Mrs Kemi Fadipe, in her
testimony gave a graphic details of how
the lawyer was murdered.
Kemi, a school proprietress said: “My
husband came in late from the office at
10pm and he was preparing for a flight
to Abuja the following day, we both had
retired to our bedroom.
“Our home is a five – bedroom duplex
and there was no electricity that night,
the home was well lit because the
generator was on.
“At 11.45pm, power was restored and
my son Folahanmi went to put off the
generator, a few minutes after he left,
he came running upstairs screaming for
help.
“He had a stab wound on his head and
was being pursued by the defendant
who was armed with a knife.
“The commotion alerted my husband
and I rushed to the anti-room upstairs
where we saw the defendant and
Folahanmi.
“The defendant was saying that
someone had to die today and
demanded N500,000, threatening us
that members of his gang had
surrounded the house.
“We knelt down to plead with him and
my husband instructed me to get a
white envelope containing cash from
the jacket of his suit.
“When the envelope was handed over
to the defendant, he was dissatisfied
and demanded for laptops and phones
and we told him those items were
downstairs.
“He for no reason, lunged at Folahanmi
with a knife and my husband stepped in
to save him and he was stabbed in his
neck and his chest.”
