Court Upholds Hanging of Delta Man Over 2014 Abduction

The Supreme Court has upheld the death sentence by hanging for Chelynor Halim, a convicted kidnapper from Delta State, in a unanimous decision by a five member panel that dismissed his appeal as lacking merit.

The apex court on Friday affirmed the 2017 judgment of a High Court in Asaba, Delta State, which found Halim guilty of armed robbery and kidnapping based on the evidence presented at trial.

The case centred on the February 9, 2014, abduction of Joan Osemene. Halim and his accomplices seized her and took her to an unknown location in Ibusa, Delta State. He allegedly slapped the victim and threatened her with a gun before covering her nose with a cloth containing a substance that caused her to lose consciousness.

At the scene, the gang leader, identified as Edozie Obude, allegedly 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 N10,000 in cash. They later used the card to withdraw N55,000 from her account.

The victim testified that her hands and legs were tied before the gang abandoned her at another location. She freed herself and escaped, running until she reached a major road. There she flagged down a motorcyclist who turned out to be Halim. Recognising him as one of her attackers, she raised an alarm. Bystanders apprehended him and handed him over to the Department of State Services.

Halim led operatives to the gang hideout, where a shootout resulted in the death of the leader, Obude.

In the lead judgment delivered by Justice Chioma Nwosu Iheme, the Supreme Court held that there was no doubt about the appellant identity as one of the gang members. The evidence adduced at trial established his presence at the scene of the crime. The court dismissed the appeal marked SC/CR/913/2022 and upheld the death sentence by hanging.

This ruling comes amid a documented rise in kidnapping incidents across Nigeria. Public records show persistent cases of violent abductions, including mass school seizures in recent months. In Borno State, armed groups attacked schools in Askira Uba and Chibok local government areas on May 13 and 14, abducting 42 pupils. In Oyo State, coordinated attacks on May 15 at Baptist Nursery and Primary School in Yawota, Community Grammar School and L.A. Primary School in Esiele, all in Oriire Local Government Area, resulted in the abduction of another 40 pupils.

Efforts to secure the release of those abducted remain ongoing. Broader data from conflict monitoring sources indicate that kidnapping for ransom and related violent crimes have affected hundreds of victims in multiple states since 2023, with at least nine major school targeted incidents recorded in that period involving over 500 individuals in compiled reports.

The Halim case illustrates how direct victim testimony, documentary evidence such as ATM transactions and post arrest actions can form a coherent body of proof that withstands appellate scrutiny years after the offence. Judicial affirmation of maximum penalties in such matters reflects one strand of the legal response to threats against personal security.

The constitution places the primary duty of protecting lives and property on the government. Court records in kidnapping and armed robbery matters continue to show convictions based on identification and corroborative material, even as security agencies pursue rescues in active cases.