Ekiti man sentenced to d*ath after being convicted of r*pe and cultism

A 24-year-old man identified as Segun Iwaetan, has been sentenced to death by hanging for being part of a secret cult.

An Ekiti State High Court, Ado Ekiti division, which convicted Iwaetan, also found him guilty of raping a 20-year-old neighbour and student of the Federal Polytechnic in the area.

Consequently, the court also proscribed a life imprisonment sentence on Iwaetan.

The defendant was tried on seven counts bordering on rape, unlawful possession of firearms and membership of a secret cult, among others.

The charges read in part, “Segun Iwaetan and Atila Iwaetan (now at large) on January 16, 2021, on Federal Polytechnic Road, Ado Ekiti, did conspire to commit burglary and stealing by breaking into the shop of Olayemi Oyerinde, and receiving stolen property such as 50 jean trousers, 15 polo shirts, 30 pairs of leather slippers, among others, worth over N1.8 million.

“Also, on February 5, 2021, the defendant raped a 20-year-old Federal Polytechnic student on Odo Ado Street, Ado Ekiti, while unlawfully in possession of two guns. He was on February 10, 2021, found to be a member of the Eiye Confraternity cult.”

Testifying against Iwaetan, the rape victim said the former defiled her at gun point.

“The defendant was my neighbour. On that day, he gained access to my room around 3am; he pointed a gun at me and ordered me not to shout or else he would shoot me. He ordered me to undress and forcibly had sex with me. As of the time he raped me, I was still a virgin. Thereafter, he begged me to forgive him and I should not tell anybody,” she said in her testimony.

Delivering the judgment, Justice Adeniyi Familoni of the court convicted Iwaetan on four of the charges, including rape and cultism.