31 May 2023 :

Ogun State Governor, Dapo Abiodun, was on TMay 30, 2023, sworn in for second term, announcing state pardon for 49 inmates from different correctional facilities in the state.
The governor also commuted the death sentences of three convicts to life imprisonment.
The governor said, “I have signed the appropriate warrant, ordering the immediate release of 49 convicts who are currently imprisoned in different correctional facilities across Ogun State.
“I have also signed a warrant ordering that the death sentences imposed on three death row convicts be immediately converted to prison sentences.
“The convicts, who have received this gesture today, are inmates who have served long prison sentences with some, having been in prison for more than 20 years. At least two of these convicts have serious medical conditions, such as tuberculosis and HIV, which even render them a health hazard to the prison community.
“Three of these convicts are over 60 years old, with one being 84 years old. Others already have less than two years of their sentences to serve anyway. All of these convicts have shown remorse for their crimes, they have acquired skills and certifications in prison, and they have demonstrated verified good conduct during their imprisonment.”

26 December 2023 :

The Minna High Court presided over by the Chief Judge of Niger State, Justice Halima Ibrahim Abdulmalik, on December 13, 2023 sentenced Stephen Jiya to death by hanging for setting his biological mother ablaze which resulted in her death.
The Chief Judge while delivering a judgement in a case of culpable homicide against Stephen Jiya, found him guilty of the offense punishable under section 221 of the penal code law which attracts the death penalty.
Stephen Jiya was arraigned by the office of the Attorney General of the Niger State Ministry of Justice for setting his mother, Mrs. Comfort Jiya, a retired Director in the Niger State Ministry of Education, ablaze sometime in December 2021.
Jiya was arraigned before Justice Halima Ibrahim Abdulmalik on September 14, 2022, while hearings into the case commenced on November 23, 2022.
Justice Halima Ibrahim Abdulmalik, while analysing the case, revealed that all the ingredients that indicated that the convict was responsible for the crime leveled against him were established by the prosecutor, and all the evidence and prosecuting witnesses who testified before the court were able to prove that the convict was responsible for the killing of his mother.
Justice Halima further stated that the prosecutor would have proved its case against the defendant beyond all reasonable doubt, and she was convinced by all the testimonies of the prosecuting witnesses.
“The prosecutor has proved its case beyond reasonable doubt against the defendant, and I hereby find you, Stephen Jiya, guilty of the offence of culpable homicide, which is contrary to Section 221 of the penal code,” Justice Halima said.
“In the circumstances, the sentence of the court upon you is that you should be hanged by the neck, electrocuted, executed, or injected with lethal injection until you are dead, and may the Lord have mercy on your soul.”

11 December 2023 :

A Zamfara State High Court on December 7, 2023 sentenced one Anas Dahiru to death by hanging for killing his friend.
Anas of Unguwar Dallatu area of Gusau, in Zamfara State, was accused of killing his friend, Shamsu Ibrahim with a knife during a dispute over one hundred Naira in 2017.
The presiding justice, Mukhtar Yusha’u said that having listened to both sides, the court was convinced that Anas commited the crime.
Justice Yusha’u sentenced the convict to death by hanging as enshrined in section 221 of the Penal Code.

10 December 2023 :

Four persons, Segun Friday, Tijani Semiu Seun, Ogunyemi Segun Olarewaju, and Adebayo Tope, found guilty of stealing a motorcycle have been sentenced to death by the Ekiti State High Court, sitting in Ado-Ekiti, Tori.ng reported on Devember 7, 2023.
The defendants were found guilty of conspiring to commit a felony and robbing Adeleke Abiodun of his Bajaj motorcycle while bearing firearms.
The incident occurred on December 24, 2018, at Irare Village, Erinmope, in Moba Local Government Area of Ekiti State, according to the charge.
The convicts were charged under Section 6(b) of the Robbery and Firearms (Special Provisions) Act, Cap. RII, Vol. 14, and Section 1(2) (a) of the Robbery and Firearms (Special Provisions) Act, Cap. RII, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004.
To prove his case, the prosecutor, Julius Ajibare, called three witnesses and tendered the defendants’ statements as exhibits, while the defendants spoke through their counsel, Adeyinka Opaleke.
Delivering his judgment, Justice Adekunle Adeleye said, “There is evidence of a direct plot between the conspirators. The 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th defendants indeed took steps to achieve the agreed task of robbery.
"From the evidence placed before the court by the complainant, he has established beyond a reasonable doubt the meeting of minds of the defendants to dispossess the owner of a motorcycle.
“It is also established without doubt that the defendants took steps in achieving the agreed unlawful act of dispossessing his Bajaj motorcycle. The four defendants are found guilty in count one (conspiracy) and count two (armed robbery) as charged.”
The judge subsequently sentenced the convicts to death.

29 November 2023 :

A middle-aged man, Joseph Abayomi, was sentenced to death on November 27, 2023 in Ondo State for hacking his neighbor, Thomas Oluwole, to death.
Abayomi was convicted by an Ondo State High Court sitting in Akure after being found guilty of killing Oluwole in the state capital’s Ijoka neighborhood in 2021.
The convict was said to have argued with the deceased over well water contamination.
Abayomi was accused of attacking the deceased, a 63-year-old bricklayer, with a machete at his neck and other parts of his body during the heated altercation.
He was later apprehended by police when a report was made, and he was charged with murder in court.
The court charge was brought using information lodged at the court by an Assistant Chief Legal Officer from the Ondo State Ministry of Justice, Omotola Ologun.
The convict was believed to have claimed to be “insane” when committing the crime during the trials.
The court however found Abayomi guilty of the offense after hearing arguments from both the prosecuting and defense attorneys.
The trial judge, Justice O.S Kuteyi, stated in his decision that Abayomi cannot be absolved of responsibility for Oluwole’s death as a result of his acts.
According to Kuteyi, who listened to the defense counsel, the defendant intentionally attacked the deceased by hitting him on the head with a cutlass.
While agreeing that the prosecution had established Abayomi’s murder case beyond a reasonable doubt, the judge sentenced him to death by hanging.

27 November 2023 :

An Ikeja high court on November 21, 2023 sentenced two men over the death of seven officers of the Department of State Services (DSS). Hakeem Oshodi, presiding judge, sentenced Clement Ododomu to death by hanging and Tiwei Monday to 16 years in prison.
The convicts were said to have committed the offences on September 14, 2015, in Ishawo Creek, Ikorodu, Lagos. They were arraigned on a 10-count charge bordering on conspiracy to commit murder, murder and illegal possession of firearms, contrary to section 223 and 298 (3) of the criminal law of Lagos state, 2015. The Lagos state government had submitted that DSS received a distress call from an editor of Sun newspaper (name withheld) on September 14, 2015, about the kidnap of his wife at their residence. It was said that the state command of the DSS  dispatched a nine-man team to carry out surveillance to ascertain the location of the kidnappers who were negotiating for a ransom.
In the evening of that day, Martins Ajayi, one of the officers in the team, sent a distress text message to the command headquarters saying that the men had been ambushed by vandals and their weapons seized. The defendants, however, pleaded not guilty to the crime while submitting that they were in Lagos to attend the burial of their grandmother.But in the judgment, Oshodi held that the defence failed to provide essential witnesses to corroborate the claim. The judge also noted that the defendants did not show remorse for their crimes.“The court has considered the allocutus of the defence counsel, but the position of the law is binding to us all,” the judge said.“As noted, the first defendant was convicted on counts one, five, seven, nine and ten, while the second defendant was convicted on counts one and ten.”He held that the prosecution was not able to prove that the second defendant was guilty of murder.Oshodi said that evidence before the court showed that it was one Agbala and the first defendant who killed the operatives.He held that the prosecution was able to prove that the two defendants participated in the ambush of the operatives.He discharged and acquitted the convicts on counts two, three, four, six and eight because the prosecution was unable to prove the allegations against them.“The court has observed the demeanour of the defendants and came to the conclusion that they felt no remorse with regard to the allegations they were facing,” Oshodi said.
“They informed the court that they do not understand English language, whereas, in the recording, they both were conversing in English.“The first and second defendants are hereby sentenced to imprisonment for 14 years for count 10 and the first and second defendants are hereby sentenced to imprisonment for two years for count 9.“The first defendant is hereby sentenced to imprisonment for 20 years. The terms of imprisonment for both defendants will run concurrently.“For count five and seven, which the court has found the first defendant guilty, the sentence of the court upon you is that you be hanged by the neck until you be dead and may God have mercy on your soul.”

09 November 2023 :

The Benue State High Court in Makurdi, on November 8, 2023 sentenced five men to death by hanging for culpable homicide.
The men are Terna Zwave, Jonathan Gbajime, John Bur, Gabriel Ianna and Kwaghgba Zaki, who all lived at Anchoha Village, Gwer-East Local Government Area of Benue.
They were first charged before a Makurdi Magistrate’s Court in 2021 with criminal conspiracy, criminal trespass, mischief and culpable homicide punishable under sections 97, 349, 329 and 222 of the penal code laws of Benue State, 2004.
The prosecution alleged that on 5 October 2021, the men conspired, trespassed on land belonging to one Oliver Jato and cut down trees in order to make charcoal.
The defendants were allegedly confronted by Abraham Hwange, Peter Agber and the deceased, which resulted in a violent scuffle.
The convicts beat one Biija to death, the prosecution told the court.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the case was eventually transferred to the High Court based on legal advice from the state’s Ministry of Justice.
When the case came up, the first defendant, Mr Zwave, pleaded guilty while all others pleaded not guilty.
The defendants testified for themselves without calling witnesses, while the prosecution called seven witnesses to prove its case.
In his final written address, the prosecuting counsel, R.B.N Amenger, submitted that the rest defendants’ plea of not guilty was only a mere denial.
Mr Amenger argued that the defendants had completely failed to raise a defence as to the commission of all the offences established but rather dwelt on mere denials and technicalities, which he said were not material or fatal to the case of the prosecution.
Defence counsel, D.U Liam, in his final written addresses, said that the prosecution had not proved its case beyond a reasonable doubt to warrant the sentence of the defendants.
However, the trial judge, T.A Kume, ruled that the prosecution had proved its case beyond all reasonable doubts, saying that denying the commission of offence did not amount to not committing it. Mr Kume said the burden of proof rests on the defence counsel, which he failed to achieve.
The judge acknowledged listening to the plea for mercy by the defendants and the statement by their counsel in which the Lord’s prayers were contained in the words.

05 November 2023 :

One Pius Udo Ben, a father of seven from Ikot Use Ekong in Eket Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State, has been sentenced to death for kidnapping a four year old boy who has not been found till date, Daily Post reported on November 1st 2023.
Ben, aged 59, was standing trial before the State High Court sitting in Abak with one Emmanuel Dickson Assam, a 62 year-old carpenter, charged for aiding him to escape, contrary to Section 12 subsection b of Akwa Ibom State Internal Security and Enforcement Law, 2009.
The particulars of the case showed that the four-year old victim was sleeping in his mother’s shop at Iko Eket in Eket Local Government Area, where the convict who came with a motorcyclist, tricked his 11 year-old sister to leave the shop and search for a change for iced fish of N100.
She returned without seeing her brother and the kidnapper, who left behind the iced fish he came pretending to buy.
The incident occurred on 5th June, 2014, with the then village head elect of Iko Eket, summoning the entire villagers for a parade and the sister of the missing boy identified the kidnapper among the crowd.
In her one hour judgement, the presiding judge,
Justice Eno Isangedighi, said she has read the addresses of the defense and the prosecution against the background of the facts adduced in evidence what she described as “straightforward”.
Justice Isangedighi discharged and acquitted the second accused, Emmanuel Dickson Assam for lack of evidence and found the first accused, Pius Udo Ben guilty of kidnapping and sentenced him to death by hanging.
She held that “whether the four year-old boy is alive or not, the clue lies with the convict, who from the fact of the case, has decided to keep mum and face the consequences alone.”
“He may well not be alive again or is being raised in a strange environment to be who God did not create him to be. Whatever happens, it is expected that justice must be done.” Justice Isangedighi held.
She also said that she has “listened to the allocutus of the first defendant and considered the passionate plea for mercy by the defense counsel. I have also double checked the provisions of the law to see whether it allow any latitude for discretion on the Court during sentencing, what I find is very clear and it states that “any person who contravenes subsection 1 of Akwa Ibom State Internal Security and Enforcement Law, 2009 commits an offence and shall on conviction, be liable to be sentenced to death”.
“Very sadly, the Court has no discretion for power to lessen the sentence. Had there been such discretion, the Court would have taken into consideration, the fact that the first defendant has been in custody for about 10 years. But as it stands, I am powerless to do so.”
“The sentence of this Court upon you, Pius Udo Ben is that, you are hereby sentenced to death . You shall be hanged on the neck until you die. May the Lord have mercy on your soul”. Justice Isangedighi held.

09 October 2023 :

A Nigerian court on October 9, 2023 sentenced to death a police officer convicted of shooting dead a pregnant female lawyer on Christmas Day in 2022.
The Lagos State High Court had in January put on murder trial police officer Drambi Vandi who was accused of shooting Bolanle Raheem, who was pregnant with twins, at close range.
Vandi denied the charge and had argued that the bullet that was presented in court as evidence was not from his gun.
"The court found the defendant guilty on one count of murder. You will be hanged by the neck till you are dead," judge Ibironke Harrison said.
Vandi can appeal the sentence and the Lagos state governor has to sign off on the death sentence.
Nigeria has at least 3,000 people on death row, according to Amnesty International, but executions are rare, which has led to calls by some rights groups to abolish the death sentence.
Rights groups have for years accused Nigerian police and other law enforcement agencies of murders, extortion, torture and harassment, which authorities deny.
Three years ago, demonstrators said police and soldiers opened fire during a protest against police brutality, though both sets of security forces denied firing live rounds.

05 October 2023 :

Akwa Ibom State High Court sitting in Essien Udim has sentenced two brothers to death for killing a farmer over a parcel of land, Daily Post reported on October 4, 2023.
The convicted felons are 48-year-old Uduak Udo Umoren, a pastor and motorcyclist and 34-year-old Emmanuel Udo Umoren, a farmer and panel beater, both indigenes of Adiasim Ikot Ekon Village in Essien Udim Local Government Area.
They were condemned for the murder of one Iboro Akpan Joe, a 45-year-old farmer and a trader from Ikot Otu also in Essien Udim, when he visited his sister-in-law in Adiasim Ikot Ekon to condole her on the death of her husband.
The sister-in-law had asked the deceased to accompany her to her late husband’s farmland to assess how much she could sell it for his burial.
It was gathered that, while on the land, the wife of the second convict saw them and called her husband informing him that someone was trying to bury juju on their family land.
On getting to the farmland, the second convict beat the deceased while his wife also invited her son and her brother-in-law who joined in beating the deceased with a machete, stabbing him with broken bottles.
The plea of the sister-in-law and the deceased’s wife, who heard the cry for help and rushed to the scene, fell on deaf ears, as the deceased was beaten to a state of coma and dragged to his family compound close to the farm.
At the family compound, the two convicts continued to beat the deceased until the youths of Adiasim Ikot Ekon Village led by their President, rescued him and rushed him to the General Hospital, Ikot Ekpene, where he was rejected for treatment.
It was also gathered that the deceased was taken back to his village, where he died three days after the incident.
In her judgment, the presiding judge, Justice Winifred Effiong found the two accused guilty of murder and sentenced them to death by hanging.
She said the prosecution team from the State Ministry of Justice had proven its case beyond reasonable doubt that the accuseds’ did intentionally kill the deceased.

08 August 2023 :

Justice S. M. Akanbi of the Kwara State High Court sitting in Ilorin on July 31, 2023 sentenced one Mohammed Kazeem Beiwa to death for the murder of his neighbour identified as Olokose Ojo Olushola in Ilorin a few days before his wedding in 2021.
The court also handed down 10 years imprisonment and a N100,000 fine each to his two other accomplices; Madu Jeremiah and Mohammed Chatta while the fourth defendant, Jimoh Abdulateef was set free by the Court for lack of diligent prosecution.
The four accused persons were facing prosecution before the court on eight count charges having been accused of criminal conspiracy, kidnapping, culpable homicide, illegal possession of firearms, and illegal removal of human parts.
The prosecution led by the former Attorney General and Commissioner of Justice of Kwara State, Senior Ibrahim Sulyman alleged that the four accused persons attacked and kidnapped the victim Olokose Ojo Olushola in his house a few days before his wedding in Ilorin and killed him sometime in 2021.
The accused persons after kidnapping, killing, and dismembering the victim, also negotiated for payment of ransom for his release from the family knowing he was dead already, the prosecution told the court at the trial.
The prosecution at the trial of the case called nine witnesses and tendered several exhibits before the court.

10 August 2023 :

An Osun State High Court, sitting in Ikire, on July 17, 2023 sentenced a Pastor, Philip Segun, 42-year-old and Owolabi Adeeko, 23-year-old to death for the murder of one Favour Daley Oladele.
They were also sentenced to 14 years imprisonment for conspiracy.
The third person convicted was Owolabi’s mother, Bola Adeeko who was sentenced to two years for cannibalism.
Oladele before meeting her end in the hands of the duo was a final year student of Lagos State University, LASU.
Owolabi Adeeko and the deceased were both students of Lagos State University (LASU) where they met and had been dating for months.
The judgment was delivered by Justice Christiana Olokede Obadina on July 17.
The court ruled that the prosecuting counsel has proved her case beyond any reasonable doubt.
They were slammed with a two-count charge bordering on conspiracy and murder, contrary to Section 324 and 319(1) of the Criminal Code Cap. 34 Laws of Osun State, 2002.
According to the Prosecution Counsel, Adekemi Bello, the convicts committed the offence on December 8, 2019 and they were arraigned in the Court on November 15, 2021.
She said, “Owolabi lured Favour Daley Oladele, his girlfriend, through a mobile call, on the 8th December, 2019, to come and meet his uncle at Ikoyi-Ile.
“Before that day, Owolabi Adeeko and his mother Bola Adeeko had contacted the Cherubim Church, Solution Chapel, Ikoyi-Ile belonging to Prophet Philip Segun, seeking money (wealth) ritual.
“Miss Favour Daley, a girlfriend to Owolabi Adeeko left her residence in Mowe Ogun State, on invitation from Owolabi and arrived at Ikoyi-Ile, Osun State.
“On her arrival, Owolabi took Favour to Pastor Philip Segun’s Church, where she was killed and dismembered, and her heart was cooked for Bola Adeeko to eat to get wealth, while some other parts of the body was used to make victory soap for Bola Adeeko as well.”
Adeshina Olaniyan, counsel to the accused, pleaded with the court to temper justice with mercy.

26 June 2023 :

A 78-year-old man, Ojo Komolafe, has been sentenced to death by an Ondo state High Court for killing a school proprietor, Taofik Babalola, Punch reported on June 23, 2023.
The convict was said to have shot Babalola on August 7, 2021, at Kajola Community in Odigbo Local Government Area of the state while he was sleeping.
Thereafter, he was arrested by the men of the state police command and charged to court on a two-count bothering on murder.
During court proceedings, witnesses were called by the prosecutor against the convict. Also, there were a series of arguments from both the prosecuting counsel and the defence counsel.
In his judgement, the judge, Justice Adeyemi Fasanmi held that the prosecution proved its case beyond reasonable doubt and that there was direct evidence that linked the convict to the scene of the crime as well as being responsible for the death of the deceased.
He ruled, “It is my finding that the defendant caused the death of the deceased by shooting him with a gun at a close range, which subsequently led to his death. The defendant was also seen fleeing the place of the crime.
“On the whole, I find the defendant guilty of the two counts as charged. You (the defendant) are hereby sentenced to be hanged on the neck until you die in the first count and seven years imprisonment for the second count.”

03 July 2023 :

Rivers State High Court sitting in Port Harcourt on June 15, 2023 convicted and sentenced two middle-aged men to death by hanging for kidnapping and killing a prominent Rivers State businessman, Festus Mac-Pepple and one Friday Uranta in 2008.
The trial judge, Justice Danagogo, in his judgment, convicted and sentenced Orong Orong Philips and Elisha Robert, while discharging Ishmael Ogwujan.
Ogwujan was discharged and acquitted for lack of evidence to link him to the crime.
The convicted persons were said to have killed their victims and buried them in a shallow grave in Bayelsa State before they were arrested by the security agencies in 2008.
Speaking outside the courtroom, the Prosecuting Council of the state, Anthony Oma-Wamah, described the judgment as “justice for humanity.”
Oma-Wamah, who is also a Public Prosecutor in the state Ministry of Justice, said the convicts were sentenced on a three-count charge, adding that the duo were indicted by counts two and three, which are capital offences and Count One, which carries a 10-year sentence for kidnapping. 

08 June 2023 :

A Rivers State High Court sitting in Port Harcourt on June 5, 2023 sentenced a pastor, Chidiebere Okoroafor, to death by hanging for murder.
Okoroafor, who is the General Overseer of the Altar of Solution and Healing Assembly based in Oyigbo, Rivers State, was tried for killing his choir mistress, Orlunma Nwagba, who he allegedly impregnated.
He also faced murder charges for the killing of Nwagba’s friend, Chigozie Ezenwa, and her eleven-month-old daughter, Cresabel, on December 11, 2017, in the Oyigbo Local Government Area of the state.
The trial judge, S.O. Benson, said the evidence and confessional statements from the pastor showed that he committed the crimes.
Justice Benson said the prosecution proved the case of murder against the cleric and ordered that he should be killed by hanging him by the neck until he is dead or should be injected with a lethal injection which also kills faster.
Our correspondent reports that the women had visited the pastor’s house in Oyigbo for a discussion on the said pregnancy when he tricked them into a bush and allegedly committed the act in two different locations.
Men of the Rivers State Police Command had on December 17, 2017, arrested Okoroafor following an alarm raised by Ezenwa’s husband over the killing of the three persons.
Counsel for the defendant, Innocent Ekwu, said he and his team would appeal the judgment.
“We, as counsel for the defendant, have decided to appeal the case. We are going to file our notice of appeal as quickly as possible because we have grounds on which we believe that the defendant did not commit the offence,” he said.

06 June 2023 :

An Osun State High Court on May 30, 2023 sentenced popular hotel owner Ramon Adedoyin and two others to death in the murder case of Timothy Adegoke, an ex-Master’s student of the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife.
Adegoke was found dead in November 2021 at Adedoyin’s Hilton Honours Hotel, Ile-Ife, where he (the deceased) had lodged.
In a judgment on May 30, the Chief Judge of Osun State, Justice Adepele Ojo, pronounced Adedoyin and two staff members of the hotel guilty of murder.
The judge, in a judgment that lasted over two hours, held that the circumstantial evidence available to the court, pointed to the killing of Adegoke while being a guest at the hotel owned by Adedoyin.
The judge dismissed Adedoyin’s alibi that he was not within the hotel when the late Adegoke lodged there.
Justice Ojo also held that Adedoyin’s decision not to enter the witness box to convince the court that he was innocent, was fatal to his case because the burden of proof had shifted to him.
In the final analysis, the judge said the prosecution proved the charges of conspiracy and unlawful killing pressed against Adedoyin and two of the six workers charged along with him.
The convicted hotel workers are Adeniyi Aderogba and Oyetunde Kazeem.
Along with Adedoyin, the judge sentenced them to death by hanging.

17 May 2023 :

The Ekiti State High Court, Ado Ekiti, on May 15, 2023 sentenced three men to death by hanging for conspiracy and armed robbery in the state.
The defendants, Deji Omotayo (23), Ifeanyin Chidiebere (25), and Bolaji Usman (28), were arraigned by the police on January 21, 2020, on a four-count charge of conspiracy and armed robbery.
The prosecution counsel, Mr. Kunle-Shina Adeyemo, had earlier told the court that the convicts robbed occupants of a hostel in the state of their belongings.
He listed the items stolen by the convicts to include phones, laptop computer, sandals, phone chargers and power banks valued at N186,000.
The counsel added that the convicts were armed with cutlass and wooden plank during the robbery operation.
The offences, according to him, contravened Sections 6 (b), 1 (2) (a) of the Robbery and Firearms (Special Provisions) Act, Cap. RII, Vol. 14, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004.
The defendants, however, pleaded not guilty to the charges.
In his judgment, Justice Bamidele Omotoso said the prosecution had proved beyond reasonable doubt the charge against the defendants.

02 May 2023 :

A Jigawa State High Court sitting in Ringim on April 28, 2023 sentenced four men to death by hanging for murder.
The defendants, Salahu Yau, Aminu Salmanu, Salmanu Shafi’u and Yusuf Sale of Kalawa village, Ringim Local Government Area were arraigned before the court on a 4-count charge bordering on criminal conspiracy, criminal trespass, unlawful assembly and culpable homicide.
Delivering the judgment, Justice Ahmad Muhammad Abubakar said the offense is contrary to Sections 100, 342, 97 & 221 of the penal Code Cap. 3 Laws of Jigawa State.
He said the Prosecution counsel proved his case beyond reasonable doubt and therefore convicted and sentenced them to death by hanging in accordance with Section 221(b) of the Penal Code (Cap. 3) Laws of Jigawa State 2014.
Justice Abubakar said the convicts were sentenced to 2 years imprisonment or pay a fine of N10,000 for the offense of unlawful assembly punishable by Section 103 of the same code.
They were also sentenced to 3 months imprisonment or pay a fine of N1,000 for the offense of criminal conspiracy punishable under Section 96 of the same code.
He said the punishment would serve as a deterrent to others.

05 April 2023 :

Three men have been handed a death sentence by a Jigawa State High Court, No. 8 sitting in Kaugama Local Government Area on March 31, 2023, for armed robbery and murder.
The Presiding Judge, Justice M. M Kaugama convicted and sentenced Suleiman Bello, Auwalu Muhammed, and Yakubu Muhammed to death by hanging on nine counts of criminal conspiracy, culpable homicide and armed robbery using firearms.
Prosecution counsels led by the Honourable Attorney-General of Jigawa State, Musa Adamu Aliyu said the defendants were arraigned before the court for killing one Audu Saje at Manda village at Kaugama Local Government and stole his motorcycle.
He said the suspects also abducted one Hadiza Abdullahi of Marma town in Kirikasamma Local Government and requested a ransom of one hundred and fifty million Naira.
Delivering his judgment, Justice Kaugama said the prosecution counsel had successfully proved the cases through circumstantial evidence of five witnesses that testified before the court.
He said the defendants have been sentenced to death by hanging for the offense of culpable homicide under section 221(a) of the Penal Code Law of Jigawa State, death by hanging for the offense of Armed Robbery under section 1(2) of the Firearms (Special Provision) Act, Law of the Federation.
He said the judgment will serve as a deterrent to others.

03 April 2023 :

A Federal Capital Territory High Court in Kubwa on March 31, 2023 sentenced two men, Yahuza Isah and Auwalu Mohammed, to death by hanging for killing a tricycle rider.
Delivering judgment in the matter, Justice Asmau Akanbi-Yusuf held that based on the evidence before the court, the defendants formed a common intention when they conspired to kill and rob the deceased, Mohammed Shaibu, on January 7, 2020.
Akanbi-Yusuf also held that Isah and Auwalu failed to present any evidence to rebut the fact that they were arrested in connection with the crime.
“The prosecution counsel, Mayowa Adefioye, has proved beyond reasonable doubt the offence of conspiracy, armed robbery and culpable homicide, punishable with death under Section 1(2)(a)(b) of the Robbery and Firearms Special Provisions Act.
“Therefore, the defendants have been found guilty and shall be hanged on the neck until they are dead. May the good Lord have mercy on their souls,” she ruled.
The News Agency of Nigeria reported that earlier, the prosecution counsel said the convicts, while armed with weapons, robbed the deceased and carted away his tricycle on January 7, 2020.
Adefioye said the convicts caused the death of Shaibu when they hit him in the head with a spanner in Moore District, Abuja.

30 March 2023 :

A domestic staff, Joseph Ogbu, was sentenced to death by hanging on 27 March 2023 for killing his employer, an 89-year-old grandmother, Ajoke, and her daughter, Oreoluwa, in their home in Lagos.
Delivering the judgement, Justice Modupe Nicole-Clay, sitting at the Lagos State High Court, Ikeja, found the defendant guilty of a three-count charge of armed robbery and murder. The charges were preferred against him by the Lagos State government.
The defendant committed the offence on June 19, 2019 by killing one Adejoke John, by strangulating her to death and stabbing Oreoluwa to death. He pleaded not guilty when arraigned on October 22, 2019, to a three-count charge of armed robbery and murder, contrary to Section 222 and 297 of Criminal Laws of Lagos State, 2015.
Ogbu, while armed with a knife, robbed Adejoke John of her Toyota Camry Saloon car, with Registration No. FST 104 CW, LG plasma TV, motorway handset, one Gionee handset, one Nokia phone, one i-Tel Phone and one power bank.
The trial judge held that the defendant confessed to the crime.
In his allocutus, the defence counsel, Mr. Moses Enema, told the judge: “The defendant is a first time offender, a son to a young widow, largely dependent on this son. In the course of the trial, my lord, the defendant was very remorseful, it’s an indication that he is willing to take a new leave. We do pray for the court to temper justice with mercy.”
Sentencing him to death for all the three counts, Justice Nicole-Clay pronounced: “This court has found Joseph Ogbu guilty of these heinous crimes; you are, hereby, sentenced to death by hanging. May God have mercy on your soul.”

26 March 2023 :

A Lagos State High Court sitting in Ikeja on 23 March 2023 sentenced four men to death by hanging for armed robbery and kidnapping of Mrs Gloria Emole.
The convicts, Ifeanyi Maduaka, Victor Chukwunonso, Obinna Nwankwo, and Richard Nwabueze, are said to have committed the offences on the 19 of November 2012 at about 8.30am.
They were arraigned on a three count charge bordering on conspiracy, armed robbery and kidnapping on the 13 of July 2013, preferred against them by Lagos State and remanded in prison custody.
Dr Babajide Martins, the state Director of Public Prosecution, told the court that they kidnapped the victim who was about to leave her house at 7, Unity Street, Ogudu GRA area of Lagos.
According to the prosecutor, the offences committed are contrary to and punishable under Sections 297,285 (2) and 291 of the Criminal Laws of Lagos State 2015.
”The victim was kidnapped on the 19 of November 2012 and was later released on the 22 of November 2012, after her husband paid a ransom of $70,000.”
Justice Lateef Lawal Akapo, on 23 March, held that the prosecution was able to prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt. And sentenced the defendants to 10 years for the first count of conspiracy.
”They are sentenced to death by hanging for the second count of armed robbery and sentenced to 21 years imprisonment for the third count of kidnapping”, Justice Lateef held.

16 March 2023 :

Akwa Ibom State High court sitting in Etinan Local Government Area has sentenced one Moses Abdon Edo, aged 37, to death by hanging for killing his biological father, Abdon Peter Edo over a plot of land, Tribune Online reported on 14 March 2023.
The Court presided over by Justice Ezekiel Enang held that the convict, an indigene of Ikot Ukobo in Nsit Ubium LGA had confessed in his statement that he single-handedly killed his father in a broad daylight on 29 July 2015, in his house and buried him beside his son’s grave.
Justice Enang in a one-hour judgement said the convict, who is the first son of the deceased, also confessed that he pursued his father to the backyard of his old building and hit his head on the wall where he died on the spot for refusing to hand over landed property to him.
The Court held that once a confessional statement is positive, direct and unequivocal of fact, it is sufficient to secure the conviction of the accused even without the evidence being collaborated.
According to Justice Enang, in a charge of murder, what the prosecution must prove beyond a reasonable doubt, are the ingredients of the offence that the deceased died and that the death was caused by the act of the accused to kill or cause him grievous bodily harm.
He held that by smashing his father’s head on the wall, the convict had intended to kill him.
Justice Ezekiel Enang found Moses Edo, an okada rider, guilty of murder and ordered that he should be hanged or a lethal substance injected inside him until he is dead.
The case, which was prosecuted by the State Ministry of Justice and defended by the Legal Aid Council of Nigeria, has laid to rest, eight years of prosecution of the matter at the trial Court.

02 March 2023 :

Justice Olubunmi Abike-Fadipe of the Ikeja Special Offences Court on 13 February 2023 sentenced a 20-year-old man, Nojeem Badmos, to death by hanging for armed robbery.
Badmos was arraigned on a two-count charge of conspiracy to commit robbery and armed robbery, preferred against him by the Lagos State Government.
According to the prosecution, the offence of conspiracy and armed robbery contravened the provisions of Sections 299 and 297 of the Criminal Laws of Lagos State, 2015.
When the matter came up on 13 February for judgment, the state prosecuting counsel, Mrs Adebanke Ogunde, announced her appearance while Mr Ajibade Benson appeared for the defence.
While delivering judgment, Justice Abike-Fadipe held that the prosecution was able to prove the ingredients of the two counts of conspiracy and armed robbery beyond a reasonable doubt.
The judge described the convict’s account of the incident as inconsistent.
She held that the evidence of the prosecution witness, Adetokunbo Solomon (victim), was proven cogent and true.
Justice Abike-Fadipe said, “Concerning the offence of conspiracy to commit robbery, I sentence you to 21 years jail term.
“In respect to armed robbery having been found guilty, you will be hanged on the neck until you are dead and may the Lord have mercy on you.”

28 February 2023 :

Jigawa State High Court in Birnin Kudu has sentenced Isyaku Wakili Gwanto to death by hanging for killing Malama Malora Adamu, the Daily Post reported on 16 February 2023.
The accused was earlier arraigned before the court over the alleged beheading of the victim with a machete at Duliyari Fulani settlement in Kirikasamma Local Government.
The presiding judge, Justice Musa Ubale said the offence is culpable homicide punishable with death under Section 221(b) of the Penal Code.
Justice Ubale said the prosecuting counsel had proved his case beyond reasonable doubt and therefore sentenced the accused person to death by hanging to serve as deterrence to others.

26 February 2023 :

The Ondo State High Court in Akure on 14 February 2023 sentenced Messrs Ayuba Idris and Tasur Abubakar to death by hanging for killing a couple.
The two convicts were charged with murdering one Mr Kwaku Richard Kwakye and Mrs Tope Kwakye in the year 2019 in Akure, the state capital. 
Delivering judgment, Justice Williams Olamide sentenced the convicts to death by hanging for offences of armed robbery and murder.
He also sentenced them to seven years imprisonment for conspiracy.
The prosecutor, John Dada, had told the court how the convicts robbed the couple and killed them on 1^st May 2019 around 8:30 pm at Ojomo Akintan Estate, Olufoam in Akure.
He said the offences contravened sections 6(b), (1,2) (a)&(b), 324, 319, 319(1) of the Robbery and Firearms (Special Provisions) Act, Cap11, Volume 14, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004.
Dada told the court that the convicts were armed with dangerous weapons and killed their victims with motorcycle cables.

06 February 2023 :

Two former officers of the disbanded Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) on 3 February 2023 were sentenced to death by hanging in Rivers state for the killing of Michael Akor and Michael Igwe, while in their custody.
The two convicted former SARS officers were among the five-member SARS team that were standing trial for killing Akor and Igwe while in their custody for allegedly stealing recharge cards in Oyigbo, Oyigbo Local Government Area of Rivers State in 2015. 
Other accused officers were Samuel Chigbu, Shedrack Ibibo, Magus Awuri, Ogoligo, and Olisa Emeka.
However, while Chigbu and Ogoligo reportedly died in custody at the Correctional Centre in Port Harcourt, the state capital, Ibibo, Awuri and Emeka continued with the trial.
Channels TV reports that in her ruling on 3 February, the trial judge, Justice Margaret Opara of a High Court sitting in Port Harcourt found Shedrack Ibibo and Magus Awuri guilty of conspiracy to murder and therefore convicted and sentenced them to death by hanging, while Olisa Emeka acquitted.
The SARS was disbanded in 2020 after the nationwide protest against increasing cases of extrajudicial killing of innocent Nigerians, especially the youths.

17 January 2023 :

An Osun High Court sitting in Osogbo, on 16 January 2023 sentenced four persons to death by hanging for murder and other related offences.
The four convicts are Olabisi Bashiru, 50 ; Kayode Sunday, 27; Rashidi Waidi, 35; and Hameed Rafiu, 33.
They had pleaded guilty to the offences committed.
The Presiding Judge, Justice S. Falola, sentenced the four to death due to the magnanimity of the offence.
The State Counsel, Mr Dele Akintayo, had told the court that the convicts committed the offence on 27 November 2018, at about 2:00 p.m. in the Moboreja area, Ikirun, Osun.
”The convicts were armed with offensive weapons and they jumped the fence into the house owned by Victor Akinbile’s uncle and forcibly entered the room he was sleeping.
”They demanded the sum of N10 million from Akinbile but he gave them N3 million through transfer and collected huge cash from the victim, having threatened to kill him.
”The convicts later kidnapped Akinbile and put him inside his Toyota Camry car boot and drove him to Dominion Camp area, old Iragbiji road along Ikirun/Osogbo road and set him and the car ablaze which caused the death of Akinbile.
The prosecution counsel said the offence contravened the Robbery and Fire Arms Laws 2004, punishable under the Criminal Code, Cap 34, Volume 2, Laws of 2002.
Counsel to the convicts, Mr S. Ajibade and Mr Adedayo Adedeji, prayed the court to temper justice with mercy in sentencing the convicts.

19 January 2023 :

A 32-year-old vulcanizer, Chidozie Onyinchiz, on 17 January 2023 was sentenced to death by hanging by an Ikeja Special Offences Court, presided over by Justice Mojisola Dada.
Onyinchiz was found guilty of conspiracy, armed robbery, and membership of an unlawful society for robbing a nurse of N57,000.
The victim, Veronica Uwayzor, had identified Onyinchiz as the perpetrator, and he had also confessed to the crimes and his membership in an unlawful society.
The state prosecutor, Mrs Afolake Onayinka, had previously informed the court that Onyinchiz committed the crimes with an accomplice, Ediri Endurance, who is still at large.
The incident took place on 12 August 2018, and according to the prosecution, the victim, Veronica Uwayzor, had identified Onyinchiz as the perpetrator after he and his accomplice, Ediri Endurance, robbed her of N57,000 at Akesan Bus Stop.
The prosecution submitted that neither Onyinchiz nor Endurance wore masks during the robbery, which made it easy for the victim to recognize Onyinchiz a few hours after the incident.
In his confessional statement, Onyinchiz admitted to belonging to an unlawful society and stated that it was his first time committing a robbery in Akesan. He also admitted to being initiated into Eiye Confraternity in 2009 but claimed that he had never killed before.
Justice Dada stated that “The totality of the evidence before the court is compelling and I find the defendant guilty of the charges preferred against him. He is hereby sentenced to death by hanging and may God have mercy on his soul.”
The state prosecutor, Mrs Afolake Onayinka, had also informed the court that the incident was in contravention of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015.

29 November 2023 :

At an Access to Justice in Nigeria parley, the Nigeria Correctional Service on November 7, 2023 raised issues over 5,000 inmates who have been sentenced to death by hanging but have waited for decades without their sentences being carried out.
The Controller-General, Nigerian Correctional Service (NC0S), Haliru Nababa, represented by Gimba Dumbulwa, Assistant Controller, Custody of the Service, said the delay is linked to governors and their reluctance to sign their death warrants, which is contributing to prison congestion.
“Some of those sentenced to death by hanging have stayed for 10, 15 or even 20 years in custody while their death sentence has not been signed by governors.”
He called on stakeholders from the respective states to use their Attorney Generals to influence their governors to see that those inmates on death row can have their sentences commuted to imprisonment. This he said is expedient so that those that have spent long years of sentence could be released.
According to him, there are 80,020 inmates with 5,076 awaiting death throughout the country.

16 October 2023 :

Members of the international community on October 10, 2023 urged again Nigeria to abolish the death penalty. They argued that capital punishment is outdated, does not stop crime, and tasked the Federal Government with reviewing the policy. 
This was at the screening of a movie, ‘Shepherds and Butchers’, hosted by Avocats Sans Frontières France (ASF France), with support from the French Embassy and the Australian High Commission in Nigeria, in commemoration of the 2023 World Day Against the Death Penalty, in Abuja, on October 10. 
Speaking to journalists, Charge D’affairs, Australian High Commission to Nigeria, Lean Johnston, recalled that Australia abolished the death penalty in 1968, describing capital punishment as state violence against its own citizens. She said: “To be honest, to us, it is inhumane. So, it’s very important for us to work with other governments to put an end to this cruel treatment. Death penalty does diminish human dignity. When you take the life of someone else, whether it’s done as a criminal act, or whether it’s done by the state, it does diminish human dignity.”
Country Director, ASF France Nigeria, Angela Uwandu Uzoma-Iwuchukwu, said though more than 3,000 Nigerians are on death penalty, the number is not exact.
While advising the Nigerian government to emulate Ghana by abolishing capital punishment, she called for implementation of alternatives by putting in place an official moratorium on executions, while working towards abolition of the death penalty. Also, Ambassador of France to Nigeria, Emmanuelle Blatmann, called for an official moratorium on executions.  She observed that France considers the death penalty as unfair and inhumane, adding that it is also irreparable. According to her, shedding the blood of another human cannot amend a crime that has been committed.
In a related development, Deji Ajare, Executive Director, Sterling Law Centre, described death penalty as a violation of inherent right to life, constituting cruel, inhumane, and degrading treatment. 
“It is our steadfast position that no judicial system should have the power to take a life, even in response to heinous crimes,” he said in a statement.

05 July 2023 :

The Dein of Agbor Kingdom in Delta State, Benjamin Keagborekuzi, on July 4, 2023 proposed the death penalty for any public officer in Nigeria, found guilty of embezzling and diverting public funds.
The monarch gave the advice while speaking with journalists at his palace, in Agbor. Keagborekuzi, who was apparently disturbed by current suffering of Nigerians, said the country is retrogressing because public officers steal the wealth of the nation for personal purposes without accountability.
He said, henceforth, any public officer found guilty of embezzling public funds should be executed, because such a person opposes growth and development of the nation.
The monarch said: “We need to start thinking about death penalty for public officers in Africa, who are found guilty of embezzling public funds. They are of no use to us; the country has suffered enough.
“The Federal Government needs to tackle corruption strictly. We would be deceiving ourselves if we continue the way we are going. We cannot change the way government is run without stringent decision being taken.” He, therefore, advised President Bola Tinubu to use his wealth of experience as former Lagos State governor to improve the nation’s economy.
The monarch also advised the President to appoint right people in government and give them free hand to drive development. He added: “Good leadership without the right people in place will fail, just as wrong leadership with the right people in position will definitely succeed.”

20 April 2023 :

The Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS) says 3,298 inmates across custodial centres in Nigeria are on death row.
Speaking with NAN on April 19, 2023, Abubakar Umar, NCoS public relations officer, also said the term ‘condemned criminal” has been abrogated.
Umar said the NCoS Act 2019, which redefined prisons as correctional centres, voided the term.
He said the service prefers to use the more friendly term; “inmates on death row (IDR)”.
He noted that death sentences are not always carried out immediately after they are imposed.
“There are often long periods of uncertainty for the convicted while their cases are being appealed at higher levels,” Umar said.
“Inmates awaiting execution live on what we call death row. Some offenders have been executed more than 15 years after their convictions.
“They were basically awaiting the hangman’s noose in our custodial centres after being found guilty of capital offences.
“We have quite a number of them; as at today, we have a total of 3,298 inmates on death row. They constitute about 4.5 percent of the total number of inmates in our various custodial centres nationwide.”
Umar said some IDRs have been in custody for many years, adding that most of them committed capital offences like culpable homicide, armed robbery, and terrorism.
“The good thing is that we engage all of them in activities that will reform and modify their behaviours,” he said.
“The goal is to make them better citizens of the nation.
“We also make them undergo personal development programmes like anger management, civic education as well as entrepreneurship.
“Some of them, who do well and show some glimpse of hard work, industry and discipline, are recommended for clemency to the relevant authorities.”
The NCoS spokesperson said the intervention of human rights groups, who are against death sentences, has reduced the execution of offenders.
“Currently, there is somewhat a kind of moratorium on execution of offenders,” he said.
“Before the moratorium on execution of IDRs became widespread, executions of IDRs were being carried out as and at when due.
“But with the rising activities of human rights groups, many governments shy away from signing the death warrants of these offenders.
“Though it is still in practice, it is not common as it used to be. The last execution of IDRs was carried out in 2016 in Edo.
“We encourage state governors, who shy away from signing the death warrants, to commute them into other sanctions.
“This will ensure that the toga of death is removed from them. It will also help us to properly manage them smoothly.”

20 March 2023 :

The Nigeria Correctional Service (NCoS) says it has at least 125 inmates on death row in its facilities in Gombe and Bauchi states.
NCoS officials confirmed this while responding to a survey by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on the death penalty in Gombe and Bauchi.
The Controller of Corrections in Gombe, Lawal Gusau, said the service has 94 inmates, including 93 males and one female, on death row in its facility in the state.
He said the inmates were awaiting execution of the death penalty.
According to him, there are 1,692 inmates in the state as of February 28, 2023.
He said 94 of the 1,692 inmates were on death row and seven lifers, while 770 convicted inmates and 821 were awaiting trial.
In Bauchi, about 31 inmates on death row were awaiting execution in the state.
The statistics officer, NCoS, Bauchi State Command, DSC Abdullahi Usman, said seven men were awaiting execution by stoning.
“Most of the inmates on death row in Bauchi are not indigenes of the state; they were brought in from other states.
“This is as a result of apprehension and pressure from the inmates’ family when incarcerated in facilities domiciled in their state of origin,” he said.
He said the service was awaiting for Executive Order (EO) by the respective state governments before carrying out the execution as passed by courts of competent jurisdiction.