An Osun State High Court in Ede has sentenced two men, Oluwashina Wakeel and Yusuf Adewale, to seven years in prison for assaulting a road user, AbdulSalam Oyewale. The court found them guilty of conspiracy and causing grievous harm.
The case, which began in March 2023, involved a seven-count charge, including conspiracy, attempted murder, and assault. Both Wakeel and Adewale pleaded not guilty, leading to a full trial where the prosecution presented four witnesses. The defendants, however, testified in their own defense without calling any witnesses.
A certified copy of the court’s judgment, delivered by Justice Kudirat Akano, revealed that the attack happened on September 19, 2022, along Ibode Poly Road in Ede. Oyewale recounted to the court that he was riding a motorcycle with his friend, Usman Abdulbasit, around 11 a.m. when a black Toyota Corolla overtook them and blocked their path.
One of the attackers got out of the car, seized Oyewale’s motorcycle key, and began beating him. Soon after, others from the car joined in the attack. In a brutal act, they forced a stick into Oyewale’s right eye, causing severe injury.
After the assault, Oyewale sought medical help in multiple cities, including Osogbo, Ibadan, and Lagos. However, doctors informed him that his eye was too damaged to be saved.
The prosecution, led by Morufat Bello, the Solicitor General and Permanent Secretary of the Osun State Ministry of Justice, presented nine exhibits as evidence against the defendants.
During the sentencing, the defense counsel, Ayodele Laogun, pleaded for leniency, arguing that his clients were first-time offenders with families relying on them.
Justice Akano, after reviewing the evidence, found the two men guilty on six of the seven charges. The count of attempted murder was reduced to assault occasioning harm.
“The defendants are each found guilty of the offences as charged, except on count 2, which has been reduced from attempted murder to assault occasioning harm,” the judge ruled.
