Lagos armed robber Chidozie Onyinchiz sentenced to death by hanging

A 32-year-old vulcanizer named Chidozie Onyinchiz was sentenced to death by hanging on Tuesday in an Ikeja Special Offenses Court presided over by Justice Mojisola Dada for stealing a nurse of N57,000.

The three-count indictment against Onyinchiz of conspiracy, armed robbery, and membership in an illegal society was found to have been proven by the prosecution, according to Justice Dada.

The convict's attempt to escape the charges, according to Dada, was fruitless.

She said that he had previously told police in Igando, Lagos, that his victim, Mrs. Veronica Uwayzor, had seen him and recognized him at the time of the offense.

“The defendant had stated that the complainant pointed at him as one of the boys armed with a pair of scissors and forcefully snatched her bag containing N57,000 at Akesan Bus Stop.

“The complainant had stated that neither the defendant nor his accomplice, Ediri Endurance, (still at large) wore masks which made it possible for her to easily recognise Onyinchiz a few hours after the robbery.

“The first statement of the defendant which he made at Igando Police Station confirmed that he and Ediri went to Akesan Bus Stop on the day of the robbery.

“Onyinchiz admitted to belonging to an unlawful society as he stated that: `this is my first time coming to Akesan to steal. I was initiated into Eiye Confraternity in 2009 but I have not killed before.’

“The same information of him being a vulcaniser was also contained in the statement he made at Igando police station and the one he made at the Special Anti-Robbery Squad office at Ikeja.

“In his confessional statement, Onyinchiz stated that he met Ediri Endurance on a public bus and Endurance took him to his father’s house after the bus developed a fault.

“He also stated that they ended up sleeping in an uncompleted building because Endurance’s father did not open the door for them to spend the night in his house.

“The statement corroborated the submission of the victim that she was accosted at about 4.30 a.m. by two boys holding an iron rod and a pair of scissors on the day of the incident.

“She said the two boys were the ones who robbed her.

“The totality of the evidence before the court is compelling and I find the defendant guilty of the charges preferred against him.

“He is hereby sentenced to death by hanging and may God have mercy on his soul,’’ Justice Dada said.

On August 12, 2018, the defendant and an accomplice who is still at large committed the crimes, according to prior testimony from the state's attorney, Mrs. Afolake Onayinka.

Onayinka claimed that after the defendant robbed the complainant, she fled into a white robe church.

She claimed that after local landlords were made aware of the situation by the church's shepherd, Onyinchiz was captured and Endurance managed to flee.

Onayinka argued that the offenses were against the 2015 Lagos State Criminal Law.