The Court of Appeal in Lagos Division has affirmed the conviction of Mutiu Ogundare, the dethroned Baale of Shangisha in Magodo, for staging his own abduction. Justice Hakeem Oshodi of the Lagos State High Court in Ikeja had sentenced Ogundare to 15 years imprisonment on September 27, 2022.
Ogundare, dissatisfied with the judgment, appealed the decision. In the latest ruling, Justice Peter Bassi, leading a three-man panel, upheld the lower court’s judgment on counts one and two but overturned count three. Justice Bassi reduced Ogundare’s sentence to 12 years, specifying that the convict is to serve 10 years for count one and two years for count two. The court overturned the sentence related to false representation to release a kidnapped person.
Justices Bayero and Folashade Ojo concurred with the lead judgment. Ogundare was initially remanded on July 16, 2017, at Kirikiri Prison by an Ogba Magistrate’s Court for allegedly faking his own kidnap.
Ogundare, alongside his wife Abolanle and brother Opeyemi Mohammed, faced charges of conspiracy, breach of peace, and fake kidnapping brought by the Lagos State government. On June 15, 2022, Justice Oshodi convicted Ogundare and his brother on three counts of conspiracy and fake abduction but discharged and acquitted Ogundare’s wife, stating she had no link to the offences.
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