A Gombe State High Court on Wednesday sentenced three men to death by hanging after finding them guilty of criminal conspiracy and culpable homicide in connection with the killing of one Ibrahim Yahaya in 2022.
Presiding over the case, Justice Haruna Kereng of High Court 3 delivered the judgment against Dauda Mohammed Abubakar (also known as Agenda), Kabiru Abubakar (Gwarei), and Ibrahim Suleiman, declaring that the prosecution had proved its case beyond a reasonable doubt.
The three men were convicted for their role in a violent attack that took place on April 22, 2022, at the Herwagana Quarters in Gombe Local Government Area. According to court proceedings, the assailants, armed with cutlasses, knives, and daggers, brutally assaulted the deceased and inflicted serious injuries on two other victims — Ahmed Abubakar and Muhammad Ahmed Lawan — during the same incident in the Dawaki Quarters.
Justice Kereng said, “The evidence presented was overwhelming and credible. The prosecution has established without a shred of doubt that the defendants acted in concert and deliberately took the life of the deceased.”
The defendants were initially arraigned on November 17, 2022, and faced three separate charges. While the court found them guilty on two counts — criminal conspiracy under Section 97 and culpable homicide punishable by death under Section 221 of the Penal Code — the third count was struck out.
“Each and all of you shall be hanged by the neck until you are pronounced and certified dead by a medical practitioner,” Justice Kereng pronounced while reading the judgment.
He further explained that the law does not allow the court to exercise discretion in cases involving capital punishment. “The sentence for culpable homicide under Section 221 is mandatory. Therefore, this court is not empowered to reduce or alter the punishment. For that reason, I will not entertain any plea for leniency or allocutus from the convicts,” the judge clarified.
The courtroom remained tense as the verdict was read, bringing to an end a nearly three-year legal process that began shortly after the violent crime shocked residents of Gombe metropolis.
