tensor777:
On what grounds would he appeal? It cannot be on any point of law or even any procedural grounds. Fine he can appeal to the Delta state governor for clemency based on whatever mitigating factors there are but that is a separate matter.

Well..

I wrote that even before I saw the act..

Looking at it now, his appeal would be to commute his sentencing to maybe life.
Nobody was killed in the process so it should be easy..

However, why did the second person not also get the same punishment?!

milehigh06:
dont forget that its because of the bigger theif robbing this nation blind thats why we have the smaller thieves....think before you post

Is that right? Who says they are robbing because of poverty or fraud by government officials. It is just what they do and who they are.
Probably the main reason is greed, and impatience of wanting to go into an activity that yields very quick returns.

tensor777:
It depends on the circumstances. However the state has a responsibility to protect society from the activities of armed thugs and bandits who threaten the lives and property of innocent hard-working Nigerians. That said I am not in favour of just caging these hooligans for life at state expense. They should just be shot by firing squad or hung so high that the crows would not be able to get at them. That is the real deterrence.
Again which one be toy gun again, I can assure you that his victim that night did not think it was just a child's play.

HaHa! Now I understand your point of view, kill or be killed abi? There are three questions you need to ask yourself to see if you are really better than the person who was convicted. 1. Have you ever lied? 2. Have you ever taken anything that did not belong to you? 3. Have you ever cheated? If the answer to 2 or more out of those 3 questions are yes then you sir should be locked up! If Nigerian laws were truly efficient or effective, 90% of the population should be in prison by now, including those who made the laws. The guy made a huge mistake in life, he did not kill anyone, take away his freedom, put him in rehab, why death?

abbey621:

HaHa! Now I understand your point of view, kill or be killed abi? There are three questions you need to ask yourself to see if you are really better than the person who was convicted. 1. Have you ever lied? 2. Have you ever taken anything that did not belong to you? 3. Have you ever cheated? If the answer to 2 or more out of those 3 questions are yes then you sir should be locked up! If Nigerian laws were truly efficient or effective, 90% of the population should be in prison by now, including those who made the laws. The guy made a huge mistake in life, he did not kill anyone, take away his freedom, put him in rehab, why death?

Speculative questions and sentiments all round. However I guess what has drawn a lot of attention to the case was that the guy is a secondary school student which is a bit surprising.
BUT more surprisingly this guy though still in high school, is 24 years old so he should be old enough to know right from wrong and consider the consequences of his actions. We are not talking about some mixed up teenager here.
Well it really is up to the appelate judges or the Delta State Governor to apply clemency if they deem fit.

joanana: Effurun , Delta State..... there you get to see a 27years old secondary school student. They are very stubborn, reckless and dangerous. If you live in effurun, once its 5pm, u better stay in your house else you will be robbed in your street with people walking along pretending not to see the robbery. ask for OGBE SECONDARY SCHOOL They come to school with hand guns ... you dare not beat or flog any student. For me, i humbly request/plead that does who are not interested in my class should leave before i start teaching....

So op if the boy is 24 n still in secondary school.. his life mission is become one of the niger delta militants cos theres nothing you say or do that will change his evil ways.

shut the Bleep up you ignorant Mofo...which hand gun you talking about? and is Ogbe in effurun or warri?

donnypool:

shut the Bleep up you ignorant Mofo...which hand gun you talking about? and is Ogbe in effurun or warri?

There is no doubt, truth is always bitter for everybody. It is my personal experience. I guess you are one them... eyyiah!!!!! Hope u turn out right

Nipped in the bud

A life sentence is more humane.

But if he had access to a real gun, he may have used it, the premeditation is the important thing here.

Remember the man shot dead in Enugu for his money and recharge cards, not long ago?

A similar scenario if you ask me.

What a wicked world!.Was anyone born a thief?. What blind law doesn't recognise a victim of circumstance when it sees one. Our judges should realize that there is a Greater Judge unto whom they are going to give account,irrespective of what the law they interprete says.I thought we have rehabilitation home in Nigeria,if this derailed boy didn't deserve to be sent to one instead of being hanged for stealing recharge card who does?

Death sentences are only carried out during millitary government. Criminals are rarely executed in a democratic era. when death sentences are pronounced the convicts are placed on death row for the rest of their lives. This becomes tantamount to a life sentence. So the chances of this boy being executed are slim.

No one should condemn the judge. So long as a person is found guilty of armed robbery, by the provisions of the CPA the only sentence to follow is the death punishment. The law does not allow him any discretion in the matter. Even a plea of allocutus from the accused will do no good at that point.

Armed robbery is an offence punishable by death. The using of the toy gun clearly shows that he had an intention to kill. So be warned.

tensor777:
That is not the point. He is being sentenced to death for ARMED ROBBERY not for stealing and certainly not for the value of what he stole.

Ok.

Really? Death sentence! First, he did not use a real gun, it's just a decoy.
Second, how about those fools who loot pension funds? Have you ever thought about the implications of such an act? They get caught yet they don't even say up to 20% of what was stolen, they walk free. Nigeria will remain this way untill those old nitwits quit contesting for political positions. That is where the problem lies!

The poor are sentenced to death when steal while the thieves at the helm of power are celebrated and applauded when they do same. Going by acts like this, I can only ascertain that a revolution is coming in this country where many of these rich cow politicians, rich men and religious leaders who loot our money would be killed. I see a REVOLUTION coming...

All of you crying for this useless boy should remember that if he was left on the streets it will just be a matter of time before he upgraded to a regular pistol.

And Yes, even if you use a toy gun it is still considered as armed robbery. A conviction of armed robbery can also be gotten if the robbery was undertaken with a screw driver. That's the law.

It takes a very special daft and desperate being to resort to such violent means of survival.

All of you condemning the judgement on the basis of bigger crooks getting free passes in Abuja are daft.

The two crimes are not the same.

If it were up to ME, I would sentence them to IN-JAIL Electronics Engineering School, where they cannot get out, until they have built, from scratch, a working GSMm Phone.

I mean, they must also design and buid the IC CHIPS also.

This is called: "Making the punishment fit the Crime."

gerald09:
24 n in high school n stealing cell phone Wow! I can imagine how s*tupit he is, y bother going to skool he would have spent does yrs knowing politician n perfecting his robbing skills. U don't rob peoples cell phone or laptops, dats grounds for execution either by d court or d people, instead u rob their future and resource and they'll worship and celebrate u for it.

hmmmmm...