The seven men, who were Fulani herdsmen , were found guilty of kidnapping the elder statesman on his farm in Ilado Village, Akure North Local Government Area of the state in September , 2015. The convicts are Abubakar Auta, Bello Jannu, Umaru Ibrahim , Masahudu Muhammed , Idris Lawal , Abdulkadir Umar and Babawo Kato.
They were initially arraigned on five counts of kidnapping, abducting, aiding and abetting , kidnapping, conspiracy and armed robbery.
Falae, a former Minister for Finance, spent three days in the den of the kidnappers while a sum of N 5m was reportedly paid as ransom to the hoodlums to secure his release.
In his judgment , the trial judge , Justice Williams Olamide , held that the seven accused persons were guilty of the kidnapping charges brought against them by the Ondo State Government .
He said the recovered ransom , call logs , and identification of the suspects by Falae himself indicted the accused persons for complicity in the crime .
The judge said , “ Having listened to both counsel , it has been proved beyond reasonable doubt that they ( accused persons) committed the offence with the evidence tendered before me .
“ Besides , during the hearing, the victim was able to identify three of them and that the ransom was paid to them . I hereby sentence all of them to life imprisonment. ”
He , however , discharged them of two of the charges of conspiracy and armed robbery.
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