The Supreme Court of Nigeria has affirmed the death sentence of Delta-based kidnapper, Chelynor Halim, bringing final closure to a case marked by a dramatic victim escape and an unexpected arrest twist.
In a unanimous judgement delivered by a five-member panel on Friday, the Apex Court dismissed Halim’s appeal in suit SC/CR/913/2022 for lacking in merit, and upheld the sentence of death by hanging imposed by lower courts.
The case stems from a February 9, 2014 kidnapping, in which Joan Osemene was abducted by an armed gang and taken to a hideout in Ibusa, Delta State.
During the attack, the victim told the court she was assaulted, threatened with a gun, and rendered unconscious after a substance was placed over her nose. She further testified that her ATM card and cash were taken, after which the gang withdrew N55,000 from her account before moving her to another location where she was later abandoned.
In a dramatic turn of events, Osemene escaped captivity and flagged down a motorcyclist for assistance, only to discover that the rider was one of her alleged abductors.
She raised an alarm immediately, leading to the suspect’s arrest by bystanders, before he was handed over to the Department of State Services (DSS), where he reportedly led operatives to the gang’s hideout, resulting in a shootout that killed the gang leader, Edozie Obude.
Delivering the lead judgement, Justice Chioma Nwosu-Iheme, JSC, held that the prosecution had proved the case beyond reasonable doubt, affirming Halim’s identity and role in the crime, and ultimately sustaining the death sentence imposed by the Asaba High Court and upheld by the Court of Appeal.
