The Jigawa State High Court has sentenced two notorious kidnappers, Sani Mohammed and Babannan Saleh (alias Ustaz), to death by hanging.
The duo were found guilty on seven counts of abduction, criminal conspiracy, robbery, culpable homlcide, and house trespass.
Judge Mohammed Kaugama handed down the sentence, stating that the convicts had, in June 2021, alongside accomplices still at large, abducted Hamidan Abdu from Shangel village in Ringim Local Government Area.
The kidnappers demanded a ransom, which they collected before releasing the victim in the Gujungu–Hadejia area.
“Due to the severity of their crimes, the court has sentenced the convicts to death by hanging for abduction, as stipulated under Section 27 of the Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) Law of Jigawa State,” said Wangara.
In addition to the death sentence, the convicts were also handed life imprisonment for robbery, as per the Penal Code, and three years for criminal conspiracy under the state’s Violence Against Persons law.
Saleh, a resident of Dumfidawa Fulani camp, was also convicted of culpable homiclde, relating to the death of Ahmed Nadabo during a ransom delivery.
The prosecution revealed that after abducting Abdullahi Jarma and negotiating a ransom, the kidnappers killed Nadabo while he was on his way to deliver the money.
“The killing of Mr Nadabo is a tragic reminder of the brutal nature of the syndicate,” said Abbas Wangara, the judiciary spokesperson.
The syndicate’s reign of terror continued with the abduction of Kabiru Taura in Taura Local Government Area, where they demanded a ransom of N20 million.
Jigawa State’s Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Bello Fanini, clarified that the convicts were part of a larger criminal network responsible for numerous kidnappings across the state.
“This syndicate was behind nearly all kidnappings in Jigawa until their arrest in 2021,” Fanini said.
Court sentences man to death for stealing fowl
Earlier, Legit reported that a clinician and social entrepreneur, Dr Femi Olaleye has recounted that the young man, Segun Olowookere, was just 17 years old when he was arrested in 2010 for stealing chickens.
Olaleye said Olowookere was sentenced to death by hanging for conspiracy, life imprisonment for robbery, and three years for stealing.
