Supreme Court Upholds Death‑by‑Hanging Sentence for Kidnapper

Alex Enumah in Abuja

The Supreme Court has upheld the death‑by‑hanging sentence imposed on Delta‑based kidnapper Chelynor Halim.

In a unanimous decision, the apex court rejected Halim’s appeal, which had challenged the Court of Appeal’s confirmation of his conviction and the death sentence handed down by the trial court in 2017.

A five‑member panel found that the appeal lacked merit and dismissed it.

In 2017, a High Court in Asaba, Delta State, concluded that the evidence proved Halim’s participation in armed robbery and kidnapping.

The trial court recorded that Halim, together with accomplices, abducted Joan Osemene on 9 February 2014 and took her to an undisclosed location in Ibusa, Delta State.

Halim allegedly slapped the victim, threatened her with a gun, and then covered her nose with a cloth containing a substance that caused her to lose consciousness.

At the scene, gang leader Edozie Obude reportedly seized the victim by the throat, struck her neck with a metal object, and ordered a thorough search.

During the trial, the victim testified that the gang seized her ATM card and ₦10,000 in cash. They later used the card to withdraw ₦55,000 from her account.

The victim said her hands and legs were tied and she was taken to another location where the gang abandoned her.

She eventually freed herself, escaped, and ran until she reached a major road.

There she flagged down a motorcyclist who turned out to be the convict. Upon recognizing him as one of her attackers, she raised the alarm, leading bystanders to apprehend the motorcyclist before he could flee.

Halim was subsequently handed over to the Department of State Services (DSS). He led operatives to his gang’s hideout, where a shootout resulted in the death of leader Obude.

Justice Chioma Nwosu‑Iheme, who delivered the lead judgment, stated that there was no doubt about Halim’s identity as a gang member and that the trial evidence established his presence at the crime scene.

The apex court dismissed the appeal (SC/CR/913/2022) and reaffirmed Halim’s death sentence by hanging.