Rituals: Court Sentences Pastor, LASU Ex-Student to Death by Hanging
By Boniface Ihiasota, USA
Prophet Segun Philip aged 42, and Owolabi Adeeko aged 23, have been sentenced to death by hanging by an Osun State High Court, sitting in Ikire.
The court found them guilty of the murder of Favour Daley-Oladele, a final year student of Lagos State University, for ritual purposes.
Justice Christiana Obadina delivered the judgement on Monday in Ikire.
Owolabi’s mother, Bola Adeeko aged 46 was sentenced to two years imprisonment for the consumption of human flesh.
Excel Magazine International gathered that the relationship between Owolabi and Favour began when they met at LASU, where they were dating.
In December 2019, Owolabi invited Favour to Ikoyi, Osun State.
However, during her visit, Favour was lured to Philip’s church in Ikoyi, where she was drugged and killed with a pestle.
After extracting some of Favour’s organs, the defendants buried her remains in a shallow grave within the church premises.
The organs were allegedly used to prepare concoctions intended to improve Owolabi’s mother’s struggling business.
The three defendants were initially arraigned before a magistrate court in Apomu in January 2020.
However, they were later re-arraigned before the High Court in Ikire in November 2021 on charges of conspiracy and murder, contrary to Section 324 and 319(1) of the Criminal Code Cap. 34 Laws of Osun State, 2002.
During the trial, the prosecution, led by the Solicitor General and Permanent Secretary of Osun State Ministry of Justice, Mrs. Adekemi Bello, presented evidence including testimonies from the investigating officer and eight other witnesses, as well as various exhibits.
The defendants chose not to call any witnesses but testified in defense of their individual roles in the case. Their counsel, Adeshina Olaniyan, pleaded for leniency in his address to the court.
Justice Obadina, in her judgement, concluded that the prosecution had sufficiently proven the case beyond a reasonable doubt.
She declared Philip and Owolabi guilty of conspiracy and murder, sentencing them to death by hanging for the murder charge and 14 years imprisonment for conspiracy. Bola Adeeko, found guilty of consuming human flesh, was sentenced to two years imprisonment.
