An Osun State High Court presided over by Justice Kudirat Akano has convicted and sentenced one Moshood Babatunde to seven years’ imprisonment for unlawful possession of a human head and other parts.
This was contained in a statement made available to our correspondent in Osogbo, the state capital, on Sunday, by the Information Officer, Osun State Ministry of Justice, Mr. Opeyemi Bello.
According to the statement, the convict was arraigned for conspiracy and unlawful possession of a human head and other human parts, which is contrary to sections 516, 242(1)(b), 329A(1) and 242 (b) of the Criminal Code Law, Cap. 34, Vol. II, Laws of Osun State, 2002.
Babatunde was arrested on October 13, 2011 for the offence.
The case was reported at the Oke-Odo Police Station, Osogbo, from where it was transferred to the State Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department, Osogbo.
The prosecution team from the Ministry of Justice, led by the Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Dr Ajibola Basiru, who appeared along with the Principal State Counsel, Matthew Adedokun, called three witnesses and tendered nine exhibits before the court.
The defence counsel, Mr. M.O. Olufemi, initially raised an objection to the tendering of the accused’s confessional statement as an exhibit, but later withdrew the objection.
In his judgment, Justice Akano said the prosecution had proved its case beyond reasonable doubt and from the evidence before the court, he was convinced that Babatunde was guilty of the charges against him.
The judge sentenced him to seven years’ imprisonment for unlawful possession of a human head, two years for indecent interference with a corpse, and two years for intent to sell or use human parts for charms.
All the jail terms, according to Akano, are to run concurrently.
Source: Punch
