The Court of Appeal sitting in Akure, the Ondo State capital, has granted the founder of Sotitobire Prayer Centre, Babatunde Alfa, the leave to amend his grounds of appeal pending before the court.
The appeal is coming three months after Pastor Babatunde, along with six others, were convicted for aiding, abetting and kidnapping, following disappearance of one-year-old Gold Kolawole in his church on the November, 2019.
On the 6th of October, 2020, Justice Olusola Odusola of an Akure High Court, convicted the Founder of Sotitobire Prayer Centre, Alfa Babatunde and six others for conspiracy and kidnapping, over disappearance of one Gold Kolawole in his church in November, 2019.
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However, 3 months after the conviction, Founder of the church and 6 others, through their lead counsel,Adegboyega Awomolo, SAN, filed a 17 order of appeal against the conviction of his client, before the Court of Appeal in Akure.
Among the grounds of appeal before the court is that the Judge erred in law, as the court lacked jurisdiction to hear the case, while the Department of State Services, DSS also has no powers to investigate the matter, which should have been handled by the police.
Another is that there was miscarriage of justice by the Judge, as there was no evidence of conspiracy between the co-defendants and the appellants for the kidnap of Gold Kolawole.
The appellant also sought the relief of the court to amend the 17 grounds of appeal.
The Presiding Judge, Justice Rita Nosakhare Pemu in her ruling, gave the appellant 14 days to file an amendment to the notice of appeal.
(Editor:Abaje Usekwe)
