BAYELSA HIGH COURT SENTENCES FOUR MEN TO DEATH FOR MURDER OF TAXI DRIVER

A Bayelsa State High Court sitting in Yenagoa has sentenced four (4) men to death for the murder of a taxi driver, Mr. Olarenwaju Ajayi during a trip to Onne, Rivers State.

In a judgment delivered on Thursday, July 10, 2025 at the Bayelsa State High Court 11 in Onopa, Yenagoa, the presiding judge, Hon. Justice Patience Ama Zuofa Diri in the suit number YHC/21C/2021: The State v. Sunday Imoh Essien, Opena Akpabio, Odogha Ebi, and Clifford Michael found the defendants guilty for the offences of conspiracy, murder and armed robbery and sentenced them to death.

According to court findings, the convicts had chartered Mr. Ajayi, a commercial taxi driver operating between Yenagoa and Port-Harcourt, under the guise of attending a naval program in Onne, Rivers State. Mr. Ajayi picked them up at Agudama-Epie and headed to Onne.

Tragically, the journey turned fatal at Okogbe in Rivers State. Under the pretense of relieving himself, the first defendant, Mr. Sunday Imoh, asked the driver to stop the vehicle. Once stopped, the other occupants of the vehicle launched a coordinated attack on Mr. Ajayi: they held him by his neck using a marine rope and stabbed him to death.

After committing the act, the convicts disposed of the body of the deceased and drove the stolen vehicle to Uyo, Akwa-Ibom State, where they sold it for Four Hundred and Fifty Thousand Naira (#450,000.00).

Commenting on the judgement, the Bayelsa State Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr. Biriyai Dambo, SAN affirmed the State’s commitment to upholding justice.

He emphasized that the conviction underscores the Bayelsa State Government’s zero-tolerance policy toward crime and its unwavering commitment to ensure that criminals face the full weight of the law.