By: Oluwatosin Adesola
An Appeal Court sitting in Akure, the Ondo State capital on Friday upturned the life imprisonment conviction against prophet Babatunde Alfa over disappearance of Gold Kolawole in his Church, Sotitobire Praisimg Chapel in November 2019.
He had earlier been convicted to life imprisonment by the state High Court over the missing of a one-year-old boy, Gold Kolawole.
SUNSHINETRUTH had exclusively reported how Kolawole was abducted in the church in November 2019 by an unknown persons during the church service.
Defendants were thereafter arrested by the men of the Department of State Security and later charged to court on a two-count of kidnapping and aiding and abetting to kidnap.
The lower court, presided over by Justice Olusegun Odusola in 2020 sentenced Babatunde and five others – Omodara Olayinka, Margaret Oyebola, Grace Ogunjobi, Egunjobi Motunrayo and Esther Kayode – to life imprisonment, having found them guilty of two charges.
However, the high court judgement was upturned as the appellate court judge, Justice Hammah Barka, said the circumstantial evidence upon which the lower court based its judgement was not enough to convict the appellants.
As a result, the judge discharged and acquitted the appellants.
The court of appeal had in September reserved judgment on the case which was filed by prophet Alfa Babatunde, the Founder of Sotitobire Praising Chapel Akure, against his conviction.
One of the counsels had said the court had reached out to them that the judgment will be delivered on Friday.
Prophet Alfa had in September asked the appeal court to nullify his life sentence conviction by the Ondo State High Court over the disappearance of one-year-old Gold Kolawole in his Church in 2019.
Presenting his brief to the judges, in a sitting which was less than 20 minutes, Counsel to Prophet Babatunde Alfa, Chief Adegboyega Awomolo SAN said highpoints of his appeal was the charges against Alfa Babatunde which were conspiracy and aiding and abetting kidnapping.
