A former local government chairman, Tajudeen Babatunde has been sentenced to four years imprisonment for conspiracy, malicious damage, and arson.
Babatunde who had served in previous capacity as a caretaker chairman of Iwo West local council development authority was sentenced by a Chief Magistrate Court sitting in Iwo on Thursday.
He was sentenced alongside three Beninois citizens, Sunday Ajoko, Jonas John, and Kohonu Deboye, as well as Adeoye Alabi and Kasumu Ajao.
They were arraigned in trial suit number: MIW/68c/2019 on four counts bordering on conspiracy, malicious damage, and arson.
According to the charge sheet, “the defendants and others yet to be apprehended were said to have, on or before the 16th day of February 2019, at Ayigbiri Orupekere farm located along Iwo/Ibadan road in Iwo, Osun State cut down about 400 palm trees and other economic trees valued about N10 million.”
The nominal complainant in the matter, the Oosa Olaniyi family in Iwo, through its counsel, Dele Abbas, had written to the Osun State Ministry of Justice to take over the prosecution of the matter from the police, a request that was granted by the government.
Upon concluding hearing on the matter, Magistrate Famuyide had on Wednesday convicted all the defendants but delayed reading the sentencing till Thursday.
Reading the sentencing of the defendants during the proceedings attended by the six defendants, their counsel, Laide Yekini, prosecuting counsel from the Ministry of Justice, Mikaheel Idris, and counsel to the nominal compliant, Abbas on Thursday, Famuyide held that the prosecution proved all the allegations levelled against the defendants beyond doubt.
They were found guilty on all the counts and subsequently sentenced to a four-year jail term.
She declined to award compensation to the complainant, suggesting that the family could pursue matters around compensation before another court of competent jurisdiction.
However, the court gave Ajao an option of an N80,000 fine considering his age and ill health.