BY TIMOTHY AGBOR, OSOGBO
A Federal High Court sitting in Osogbo, Osun State, on Tuesday, sentenced six residents of the state to five years imprisonment each for posting a nude video of the immediate past Speaker of the state House of Assembly, Timothy Owoeye, on social media.
The convicts: Kazeem Agbabiaka, Femi Oyebode, Abdul-Rasheed Ojonla, Babatunde Oluajo, Adebiyi Kehinde, and Ismaila Azeez, were also found guilty and convicted for blackmailing and defrauding Owoeye with the video which went viral on the internet.
The six convicts defrauded the former speaker to the tune of N38 million and went ahead to maliciously release the nude video of the politician while allegedly having a ‘ritual bath’ in public.
The incident happened in 2018 when the blackmailers released the 13-second nude video which allegedly showed Owoeye, who represented Ilesa East at the State Assembly, taking bath in the market place at night.
In the viral video, Owoeye was seen being accosted by a group of individuals who accused him of being involved in a ritual bath in a market square, which they further claimed was meant to ensure his success in the 2019 general elections.
Agbabiaka (herbalist), Oyebode (community leader), Ojonla (community leader) and Babatunde (Prince) were convicted of conspiracy and advance-free fraud while Adebiyi was convicted of cyberstalking.
Throughout the trial that lasted for four years, the prosecution presented 57 exhibits including flash drives and bank statements from Guarantee Trust Bank, WEMA Bank, and First Bank, among others.
Delivering his judgment on Tuesday, Justice Emmanuel Ayoola found five of the accused persons guilty of conspiracy, advance fee fraud, and cyberstalking, among others, have sentenced them to five years each.
Justice Ayoola established that the convicts swindled the ex-speaker of N38 million and also posted his nude video on the internet which caused him (Owoeye) ridicule.
While giving allocutus, the legal counsel to the convicts pleaded with the judge to temper justice with mercy on the ground that they were first-time offenders and family men.
However, the judge sentenced all the convicts, who were initially arraigned in court on October 19, 2018, to five years imprisonment each.
