I felt the need to clear the air on what what the punishment for armed robbery is in Lagos State after reading through the comments people were making about the conviction and the punishment meted out by the Honorable Court on the defendant. See below;

https://www.nairaland.com/7529322/court-sentences-vulcaniser-death-hanging

By the provisions of the Criminal Law of Lagos State 2011.

CHAPTER 30 – Stealing with Violence: Extortion by Threats

294. Any person who steals anything, and, at or immediately before or immediately after the time of
stealing it, uses or threatens to use actual violence to any person or property in order to obtain or retain the thing stolen or to prevent or overcome resistance to its being
stolen or retained, is said to be guilty of robbery.

295. (1) Any person who commits the offence of robbery shall on conviction be sentenced to imprisonment for not less than twenty-one years.

(2) Where -
(a) any offender mentioned in subsection (1)
of this Section is armed with any firearms or any offensive weapon or any
obnoxious or chemical materials or is in company of any person so armed; or

(b) at or immediately before or immediately after the time of robbery, the said
offender wounds or uses violence on any person, the offender shall be sentenced to death.

As can be see from the law and punishment section, the offence of armed robbery is a very grave one and I must point out that in criminal trials to secure a conviction all the ingredients of that offence MUST proven failure to prove even one ingredient may result in either a full acquittal or conviction for a lesser charge.

Let us not be too emotional when analyzing issues like this as the judge is a human and only following the provisions of the law as intended by the draftsman usually the members of the legislature and passed into law by the executive arm represented by the governor.

Please mods kindly move to front page for wider visibility so we all can learn. Thank you

Cc. Mynd44, OAM4J

The word offensive weapon need to be clarify... Because some biros are more offensive than scissors

jackcanfield:
The word offensive weapon need to be clarify... Because some biros are more offensive than scissors

That's the definition section

298. For the purposes of Sections 295 and 296 of this Law

“firearms” includes any cannon, gun, flint-lock gun, revolver, pistol, explosive or ammunition or other firearm, whether whole or in detached pieces;

“offensive weapon” means any article apart from a firearm made or adapted for use for causing injury to the person or intended by the person having it for such use by him or by some other person and it
includes an air gun, air pistol, bow and arrow, spear, cutlass, machete, dagger, cudgel, or any piece of wood, metal, glass or stone capable of being used as an offensive weapon".

But really it doesn't matter as the law is such that if you use a toy gun to commit armed robbery, you will be prosecuted as if you did commit the offence with a real gun. Armed robbery is a serious offence o

That serves the guy right, you don't go about robbing people but that judgment was a bit harsh life imprisonment would have been enough to teach him a lesson.

BarrElChapo:


That's the definition section

298. For the purposes of Sections 295 and 296 of this Law “firearms” includes any cannon, gun, flint-lock gun, revolver, pistol, explosive or ammunition or other firearm, whether whole or in detached pieces;
“offensive weapon” means any article apart from a firearm made or adapted for use for causing injury to the person or intended by the person having it for such use by him or by some other person and it
includes an air gun, air pistol, bow and arrow, spear, cutlass, machete, dagger, cudgel, or any piece of wood, metal, glass or stone capable of being used as an offensive weapon".

But really it doesn't matter as the law is such that if you use a toy gun to commit armed robbery, you will be prosecuted as if you did commit the offence with a real gun. Armed robbery is a serious offence o

I am not encouraging anyone to rob, as I have witness a serious violent robbery where the victim wasn't giving a chance before been wasted with some machine guns, but I suspect the intention was most likely to scare and not to arm as with the case with reference to the scissors, I think the punishment is quiet heavy. Especially in a suitation where the victim wasn't armed in anyway. I think it is wrong for the law to assume intentions, that I hold a knife does not in anyway connotes that I intend to arm someone.

jackcanfield:
The word offensive weapon need to be clarify... Because some biros are more offensive than scissors

This is true. Some toto are more dangerous than others.