‘Miki Jaga’ to die by hanging for killing a 67-year-old man

An Ondo State High Court in Akure has sentenced Michael Oladun, popularly known as ‘Miki Jaga’, to death by hanging over the murder of Enikanoselu Ogunmusire.

The convict, reputed as a notorious political thug in Ondo State, was once a campus hothead said to have been linked with some cult group at the then Ondo State University, Ado-Ekiti, where he reportedly spent eight years for a four-year course.

According to Weekend Hope, Oladun, 62, was said to have stabbed the 67-year-old deceased, popularly known as ‘Adam and Eve’ with a broken bottle on the head and chest during a quarrel over a piece of land

Justice Yemi Fasanmi in his judgment, handed down the death sentence to Oladun after he found him guilty of the murder, based on the evidence before the court that showed that the convict committed the crime.

The judge said that the prosecution was able to prove the offence of murder against the convict beyond reasonable doubt and ordered that he should be killed by hanging by the neck until he is certified dead.

Oladun was arraigned on November 8, 2021 in charge number AKR/173c/2020 on a lone count charge of murder.

The prosecuting counsel, D.G. Kayode, told the court that on May 2, 2020, at about 5pm at Ogunja Street, Okitipupa in Ondo State, the convict stabbed one Enikanoselu Ogunmusire Ayodele, also known as ‘ Adam and Eve,’ with a broken bottle. But he entered a “not guilty” plea when the charges were read to him.

The offences, according to the prosecution, contravened Section 316 and punishable under Section 319(1) of the Criminal Code Law of Ondo State, 2006.

During the trial, Kayode called seven prosecution witnesses, including the wife of the deceased, his son, and brother, as well as an Investigative Police Officer (IPO), and a pathologist, Dr O.E. Pelemo. She also tendered the convict’s statement, a picture of the deceased with wounds from the stabbing, a medical/ autopsy report, the convict’s cloth stained with blood and a broken Goldberg bottle as exhibits.

Widow of the deceased, Roseline Enikanoselu, while testifying before the court, said she was aware of the quarrel between her husband (deceased) and the defendant, over a piece of land the deceased illegally sold.

She also said when her husband was about to die in the hospital, he told her that Oladun (the defendant) stabbed him many times with a broken bottle.

She narrated, “On that fateful day, my husband left the house and I later received a phone call from my pastor that my husband had been stabbed with a bottle and he had been rushed to the hospital.

“Immediately, I rushed to the State Specialist Hospital in Okitipupa, where I met my husband with blood on his head. I asked him what happened? And he replied that it was Oladun (defendant) who had called him on the phone regarding the payment of his land that he encroached on.

“My husband said he went to Oladun’s house to give him the account number he requested and when he got to his house, Oladun started fighting him.

“My husband told me that the defendant used an iron rod to hit him on his leg and when he was struggling to run out, Oladun used a bottle to hit his head and stabbed him many times.”

Also, the deceased brother, Joseph Akinwalere, who testified as the Prosecution Witness Two (PWD 2), revealed that the whole family knew that there was a land dispute between the deceased and the defendant, adding that in the deceased’s frantic effort to retrieve the land or his money, the defendant stabbed him on his head, which eventually led to his death.

“The deceased sold a piece of land to one Mrs Adetan and the defendant illegally went behind the deceased and sold the said land to another person.

“The deceased later discovered the anomaly and confronted the defendant. In the process of persuading the deceased to refund the money he had collected, he stabbed my brother to death,” Akinwalere explained.

A medical expert, Dr. E.O Pelemo, based in Akure, Ondo State, also told the court that the autopsy revealed that there were multiple bruises and abrasions on the anterior portion of the neck, chest, shoulder and both arms of the deceased, which caused bleeding in his brain space, abdominal cavity and intestines.

“I certified that the deceased died as a result of massive loss of blood and deduction in the blood circulation of his body which resulted to a Hemorrhagic shock, and eventually resulted into multiple organ failure,” he stated.

The defendant spoke in his defence, through his counsel, Adebanjo Aiyenakin.

He also called three witnesses, including a pathologist, to counter the autopsy report tendered by the prosecution.

The defendant denied being responsible for the deceased’s death. He said his death was caused by the injury he sustained in his house when he fell from a stir case after being drunk.

Justice Fasanmi, while reviewing the facts of the case presented before him by the prosecution, said that circumstantial evidence points to the guilt of the defendant.

“It is my finding that the defendant intended to inflict grievous bodily harm on the deceased and caused his death.

“I find and hold that the prosecution proved its case beyond reasonable doubt against the defendant.

“I, therefore, find the defendant guilty as charged and convict him accordingly. You will be hanged by the neck until you are being pronounced dead,” the Judge held.

SOURCE: Weekend Hope