An Ebonyi State High Court has sentenced two men to death for the kidnapping of a two-year-old boy, Benjamin, who has remained missing since August 2020.
The convicts, Kelechi Iloke and Ikpere Kingsley, were found guilty of kidnapping contrary to Section 4(1)(a) and punishable under Section 4(2) of the Ebonyi State Internal Security Enforcement and Other Related Matters Law, Cap 55 Vol. 2, Laws of Ebonyi State, 2009.
According to court records, the incident occurred on August 23, 2020, at Ndufu Amuzu Ezza in Ezza South Local Government Area of Ebonyi State.
The court heard that Iloke, the son of the victim’s landlord, lured the toddler and his sister with the promise of buying biscuits for them. After purchasing the biscuits, Benjamin reportedly refused to return home with his sister.
The girl’s account later alerted family members to the fact that the child had remained in the custody of the first defendant.
Concerned by the development, Benjamin’s sisters immediately went to Iloke’s residence in search of him, but neither the defendant nor the child could be found. The family subsequently reported the matter to the authorities, prompting investigations that led to the arrest of the suspects.
During interrogation, Iloke confessed to abducting the child and handing him over to Kingsley, leading investigators to arrest the second defendant.
Kingsley also confessed, admitting that he sold the child to a man identified only as “OG” for an agreed sum of N500,000, but received just N150,000 as part payment.
The two men were arraigned before the Ebonyi State High Court in Charge No. HAB/FC50C/2021, presided over by Justice Chinyere Ken-Eze.
Delivering judgment, Justice Ken-Eze found both defendants guilty as charged and sentenced them to death.
The court held that the prosecution proved its case beyond reasonable doubt through the confessional statements of the accused persons and corroborating eyewitness testimony.
Reacting to the judgment, prosecuting counsel, Ijeoma Ajanwachukwu, said the conviction was secured based on overwhelming evidence presented before the court.
“The defendants were convicted based on their confessional statements and the evidence of eyewitnesses. The sisters narrated how the first defendant visited their home three times before taking the children to buy biscuits,” she said.
“After buying the biscuits, little Benjamin refused to follow his sister home and was left in the custody of the first defendant. Benjamin has not been found till date despite all efforts to locate him.”
The whereabouts of the child remain unknown nearly six years after his disappearance.
