An Osun State Magistrate Court in Osogbo has sentenced a former chairman of Iwo West local council development area in Osun state, Tajudeen Babatunde, and five others to four years imprisonment for conspiring to destroy farmland valued at N10 million.
The other convicts are; Sunday Ajoko, Kohonu Deboye, Adeoye Alabi, Jonas John and an octogenarian, Kasumu Arohunfesu, who was given an option of N80,000 fine.
Upon arraignment, the convicts were said to have conspired with others, now at large, on or before the 16th day of February 2019, at Ayigbiri Orupekere farm, Iwo, to commit felony to wit damage and thereby committed an offence contrary to the law.
The prosecutor said they destroyed 400 palm trees and other economic trees valued at N10 million and burnt the farm.
The Ministry of Justice was represented by Mikaheel Idris the nominal complainant, the Oosa Olaniyi family in Iwo.
While delivering the judgement on Thursday, the presiding Magistrate, Abimbola Famuyide, convicted the defendants, noting that the case against them has been proved beyond reasonable doubt.
The counsel to the convicts, Laide Yekini, had urged the court to temper justice with mercy on his clients by giving them the option of a fine.
But Famuyide sentenced each of the convicts to four years on counts one and four, and two years each on counts two and three.
She said, “Having considered the age of Arohunfesu who was said to be about 82 years and could no longer walk as he was carried to the court, I hereby gave him an option of N20,000 on each of the four counts and advised that he should pay N80,000 to avoid going to prison.”
She directed the complainant to approach the court of competent jurisdiction for compensation, restitution or appeal.