A High Court sitting in Yenagoa, the Bayelsa State capital, has sentenced four men to death by hanging for the gruesome murder of a commercial taxi driver, Mr. Olarenwaju Ajayi.
The verdict was delivered on Thursday, July 10, 2025, by Hon. Justice Patience Ama Zuofa Diri at Bayelsa State High Court 11, located in Onopa, Yenagoa.
The convicts—Sunday Imoh Essien, Opena Akpabio, Odogha Ebi, and Clifford Michael—were found guilty of the offences of conspiracy, armed robbery, and murder in the case registered as Suit No. YHC/21C/2021: The State vs. Sunday Imoh Essien & 3 Others.
According to the facts presented during the trial, the defendants had posed as passengers needing transportation to a purported naval programme in Onne, Rivers State.
They chartered the services of Mr. Ajayi, a commercial driver who operated along the Yenagoa–Port Harcourt route. He picked up the men at Agudama-Epie in Yenagoa and embarked on the ill-fated journey toward Onne.
However, the trip took a deadly turn near Okogbe, a community in Rivers State. Under the guise of needing to relieve himself, the first defendant, Sunday Imoh, asked the driver to pull over.
Once the vehicle stopped, the remaining conspirators launched a vicious attack. Using a marine rope, they strangled Mr. Ajayi while also stabbing him multiple times, leading to his death.
After murdering the driver, the culprits dumped his body and fled the scene with the stolen vehicle. They subsequently transported the car to Uyo in Akwa Ibom State, where it was sold for the sum of Four Hundred and Fifty Thousand Naira (₦450,000.00).
Reacting to the court’s decision, the Bayelsa State Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr. Biriyai Dambo, SAN, commended the judiciary for delivering justice.
He reaffirmed the state government’s firm stance against criminality, stressing that the conviction reflects Bayelsa State’s zero-tolerance approach to violent crimes.
Mr. Dambo also reiterated the government’s commitment to upholding the rule of law and ensuring that perpetrators of heinous acts are made to face the full consequences of their actions.