A 22-year-old Nigerian man, Martin Ekhosuehi, on Wednesday, March 4, was sentenced to nine years imprisonment for robbing two students during a home invasion in Cork, Ireland.
Ekhosuehi had denied charges of aggravated burglary, assault causing harm, and making threats to kill following the incident at the students’ rented accommodation on Highfield Avenue, College Road, Cork, on July 2, 2023.
A jury at Cork Circuit Criminal Court found Ekhosuehi guilty on all counts.
He was sentenced to 11 years in jail with the final two years suspended by judge Sinead Behan.
The investigating officer detective Garda Eoghain O’Callaghan told the court that at about 7 p.m. on July 2, 2023, two young men living at Highfield Avenue had to run to a neighbour’s house to raise the alarm after two men forced their way through the front door.
“One of them was wearing an all-black tracksuit, a black ski mask, blue latex gloves, and was carrying a large chef’s knife with a black handle,” O’Callaghan said.
“The second man was also wearing a black tracksuit and black gloves, and had a flathead screwdriver. Both were demanding money.”
The court heard that the intruders ransacked the house while demanding to know where cocaine and cash were kept.
The students were held at knifepoint and punched in the head.
“They took €30 in cash and the victims’ phones before fleeing through the back door. A glove was left behind and was forensically examined, revealing a fingerprint matching Martin Ekhosuehi. He was also identified as a suspect by two gardaí who reviewed CCTV footage,” O’Callaghan said.
The officer also explained that one of the victims had been on the phone with his girlfriend in Drogheda when the robbery occurred.
Concerned by the background noises and the sudden end of the call, she alerted gardaí.
Police arrived shortly afterward and knocked on the door, announcing their presence by shouting through the letterbox.
Ekhosuehi and his accomplice warned the two students that they would be killed if they called out or answered the door.
After the intruders left, gardaí were called again and arrived to find the students visibly shaken and suffering cuts to their faces.
Both victims said they had been punched and repeatedly threatened with death, leaving them fearing for their lives.
The court heard that Ekhosuehi had 14 previous convictions, including three for possession of drugs for personal use, one for drug dealing, one for money laundering, two for possession of knives, and one for producing an article during a dispute.
“The accused had planned and premeditated this crime and carried it out in a manner designed to conceal his identity,” Judge Behan said.
“They came with a purpose. The hour must have felt like an eternity. I have not had any indication of remorse or empathy for the victims.”
Behan noted there was limited mitigation apart from Ekhosuehi’s youth and the support of his family.
She said the aggravated burglary warranted a headline sentence of 12 years but reduced it to 11 years, suspending the final two years in light of his age.
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