Supreme Court upholds death sentence for Delta kidnapper

The Supreme Court of Nigeria has affirmed the death sentence by hanging handed down to a convicted kidnapper, Chelynor Halim, following his failed legal challenge.

A five-member panel of the apex court delivered a unanimous ruling on Friday, dismissing Halim’s appeal for lacking merit and upholding the decisions of lower courts.

Halim was originally convicted by a High Court in Asaba, Delta State, in 2017 for kidnapping and armed robbery.

Evidence presented during the trial revealed that Halim and his accomplices abducted a woman, Joan Osemene, on February 9, 2014, and took her to a hidden location in the Ibusa area of the state.

During the ordeal, Halim reportedly slapped the victim, threatened her with a firearm, and used a cloth soaked in an unknown substance to render her unconscious by covering her nose.

The prosecution further stated that the gang leader, Edozie Obude, grabbed the victim by the throat, struck her neck with a metal object, and ordered that she be searched.

The victim testified that the gang stole her Automated Teller Machine (ATM) card and N10,000 cash, and later withdrew N55,000 from her bank account using the card. She said her hands and legs were tied before she was moved to another location and abandoned.

She managed to untie herself and escape, running until she reached a major road. In an unexpected turn, she flagged down a motorcyclist for help, only to recognise him as one of her abductors. She raised an alarm, and passersby apprehended the suspect, who was later handed over to the Department of State Services.

Investigations led security operatives to the gang’s hideout after Halim reportedly provided useful information. A subsequent shootout resulted in the death of the gang leader, Obude.

Delivering the lead judgment, Justice Chioma Nwosu-Iheme held that the prosecution had sufficiently established Halim’s identity and participation in the crimes, and that evidence placed him at the scene of the kidnapping.

The court accordingly dismissed Appeal No. SC/CR/913/2022 and confirmed the sentence of death by hanging.