The Supreme Court has dismissed the appeal of Delta-based kidnapper Chelynor Halim and affirmed the death by hanging sentence handed down by a trial court in Asaba in 2017, in a unanimous judgement by a five-member panel that found the appeal lacking in merit.

The court heard that Halim and his gang abducted one Joan Osemene on February 9, 2014, taking her to an unknown location in Ibusa, Delta State, during which Halim slapped the victim, threatened her with a gun, and covered her nose with a cloth containing a substance that caused her to lose consciousness. Gang leader Edozie Obude grabbed the victim by the throat, struck her neck with a metal object, and ordered that she be thoroughly searched. The gang seized her ATM card and 10,000 naira in cash and subsequently used the card to withdraw 55,000 naira from her account. Her hands and legs were tied and she was taken to another location before the gang abandoned her, after which she freed herself, escaped, and flagged down a motorcyclist on a major road.

The motorcyclist she stopped turned out to be Halim himself, one of her attackers. Upon recognizing him, the victim raised the alarm, prompting nearby bystanders to apprehend him before he could flee. He was subsequently handed over to the Department of State Services and led operatives to the gang’s hideout, where a confrontation resulted in the death of gang leader Obude.

Justice Chioma Nwosu-Iheme, who delivered the lead judgement, held that there was no doubt about the appellant’s identity as a gang member and that the evidence adduced at trial established his presence at the scene of the crime. The Court of Appeal had earlier affirmed the conviction and death sentence before the matter reached the Supreme Court.