An Asaba High Court presided over by Honorable Justice Cletus Emifoniye yesterday sentenced two kidnappers of Delta SSG’s son, Pastor Mackson Macaulay to 18 years in jail with hard labour.

The convicted kidnappers, Sunday Ugbebo, age 28 and Odioko Omovigho, 31 were sentenced to 4 years each for the count of conspiracy and 5 years each for kidnapping.

The court slammed them with the sentence having pleaded guilty to the two count charge after almost 4 years of legal battle.

Prosecution from the Delta State Ministry of Justice had told the court that the duo and another now deceased, who died as a result of gunshot injuries, kidnapped Mackson Macaulay on the 18th of June, 2012 at Owhelogbo, Isoko North Local Government Area where he had gone to visit his uncle.

The kidnappers, who were armed with AK47 rifle shot sporadically to scare off any resistance, demobilized his car by shooting his four tyres and whisked him away in their operational Golf car vehicle to an unknown destination.

He was however released the next day without the payment of any ransom but police detectives still went after them.

The two convicts had admitted in their confessional statements to have committed the offence but retracted same at the commencement of trial.

They changed their plea on the 18th of December, 2014 having seen the overwhelming evidential proof produced by prosecution.