The three persons arrested and charged to court for kidnapping the wife of a former Ughelli South Local Government Council Chairman, Mrs. Elizabeth Otidi has been sentenced to a total of 51 years in jail by a Delta High Court sitting at Asaba on Tuesday.
The convicts, Kelly Ogun, a 33 year old farmer, Udoji Peter, age 35 and also a farmer and a 26 year old taxi driver, Iloaria Jonathan are to spend 17 years each behind the iron bars after been found guilty of the counts of conspiracy and kidnapping. The court sentenced the three of them to a jail term of 7 years each on the count of conspiracy to commit kidnapping and 10 years each for the substantive offence of kidnapping while they were discharged on count three as the court ruled that prosecution failed to establish essential ingredients of the offence ( demanding with menace) beyond reasonable doubts.
Prosecution from the Delta State Ministry of Justice had told the Court that on or about the 28th day of January, 2010, the three accused persons with others now at large conspired and executed their conspiracy by kidnapping one Mrs. Elizabeth Otidi, wife of the Council Boss at the time the offence was committed at Kiagbodo, within Bomadi Judicial Division while she was returning from market in her car. The court was further told that the kidnappers numbering over six in a Voxwaggen Jetta Car drove dangerously and hit their victims car from behind as she slowed down to negotiate a speed breaker. After damaging her car, the kidnappers jumped down from their own vehicle, seized her and whisked her away to a forest across the Bomadi River. It was gathered that she was told that her husband will cough out N30million ransom before she could be set free.
Mrs. Otidi who identified her kidnappers in her evidence in Chief during trial said she showed signs of bravery as she outwitted her abductors and escaped from their den in the night after pretending to be pressed.
The three of them who made voluntary confessional statements to the Police admitting to the offence made a u-turn by denying all the charges during trial
