Naval officer gets life imprisonment for killing ‘Okada’ rider

A naval officer will now face life imprisonment after the Supreme Court on Friday affirmed the sentence.

Felix Olanrewaju Odunlami was found guilty of killing a commercial motorcyclist in Lagos in 2005.

According to reports, the lead judgment was delivered by Justice Bode Rhodes-Vivour. The Supreme Court upheld the decisions of the General Court Martial and the Court of Appeal, Lagos.

The court dismissed Odunlami’s argument that he was provoked into murdering the motorcyclist and the trial court could give a lower sentence because under section 105 of the Armed Forces Act, on which the charge was based, the trial judge has no discretion, but to sentence the appellant to life imprisonment.

“The confirming authority confirmed the sentence of life imprisonment and dismissal from service of the Nigerian Navy.”

“It further stripped the appellant of his rank and directed that he was not entitled to his financial entitlements.

“Was this sentence excessive? Dismissal means rejection, discarding.

“Once an officer is sentenced to life imprisonment and dismissed from services of the Armed Forces, it would be naïve of him to expect to be entitled to his entitlements. Dismissal and forfeiture of entitlement go together.

“The well laid down position of the law is that this court will not interfere with concurrent findings of the courts below, except where the findings are perverse or not supported by credible evidence, or where miscarriage of justice has occurred.

“The Court Martial did not believe the appellant’s narration of events, and I agree with both courts below that the appellant’s narration of events was wrong.

“The mob that descended on the appellant was attracted to the scene when the appellant shot the deceased. The appeal has no merit. It is hereby dismissed.”

-ynaija

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