Court Verdict: Ex-Chairman and Associates Jailed for Conspiracy and Arson Charges

Tajudeen Babatunde, a former local government chairman, has been sentenced to a four-year term of imprisonment for charges of conspiracy, malicious damage, and arson.
Babatunde, who previously held the position of caretaker chairman of Iwo West local council development authority, was convicted by a Chief Magistrate Court in Iwo on Thursday.
He was sentenced in the company of three Beninese nationals, Sunday Ajoko, Jonas John, and Kohonu Deboye, as well as Adeoye Alabi and Kasumu Ajao.
They were brought before the court in trial suit number: MIW/68c/2019 on four allegations related to conspiracy, malicious damage, and arson.

As per the charge sheet, “the defendants, along with others who are still at large, were accused of, on or before the 16th day of February 2019, at Ayigbiri Orupekere farm situated along Iwo/Ibadan road in Iwo, Osun State, cutting down around 400 palm trees and other valuable trees amounting to N10 million.”
The Oosa Olaniyi family in Iwo, acting as the nominal complainant, through their legal representative Dele Abbas, had formally requested the Osun State Ministry of Justice to take over the prosecution of the case from the police, a request that was granted by the government.

Following the completion of the trial, Magistrate Famuyide convicted all the defendants on Wednesday but postponed the pronouncement of the sentence until Thursday.
During the court proceedings attended by the six defendants, their legal counsel Laide Yekini, the prosecuting counsel from the Ministry of Justice, Mikaheel Idris, and the legal representative of the nominal complainant, Abbas, Famuyide stated that the prosecution had satisfactorily proven all the allegations against the defendants.
They were found guilty on all charges and subsequently handed a four-year prison sentence.
Famuyide chose not to grant compensation to the complainant, indicating that the family could pursue compensation matters in another court with appropriate jurisdiction.
However, Ajao was given the option to pay a fine of N80,000 due to his age and health condition.