Sokoto court sentences three CJTF members to death for murder

A Sokoto State High Court has sentenced three members of the Civilian Joint Task Force (CJTF), to death by hanging for criminal conspiracy, armed robbery and culpable homicide over the killing of a man, Babangida Nasiru, after allegedly robbing him of N260,000.

The convicts, identified as Gaji Hassan, Abdullahi Goni Gudusu and Modu Bukar, were found guilty of the offences by the court presided over by Justice Kabiru Muhammad.

Delivering judgment on Thursday in suit number SS/78C/2026, The State vs Gaji Hassan and Two Others, the judge held that the prosecution had established its case against the three defendants.

The court heard that the incident occurred on September 19, 2024, at about 4:30 p.m. in Kagara village, Goronyo Local Government Area of Sokoto State.

According to the prosecution, the defendants, armed with rifles, intercepted Nasiru and a female companion, took them into the bush and collected N260,000 from the deceased before keeping him in their custody.

Nasiru was later found dead with gunshot wounds to his chest and neck.

During the trial, the prosecution called two witnesses, including a surviving eyewitness whose testimony the court described as credible and unshaken.

Justice Muhammad rejected the defendants’ claim that they had released the deceased, noting that they failed to provide a satisfactory explanation for the circumstances surrounding his death.

The judge also relied on the doctrine of last seen, which requires an explanation from persons last seen with a deceased under circumstances that reasonably call for one.

The court further held that the defendants’ confessional statements were voluntary and admissible in evidence, dismissing their allegations of torture for lack of corroborating evidence.

Justice Muhammad ruled that the surviving eyewitness’s testimony was sufficient to establish the prosecution’s case against the defendants.

In imposing the sentences, the judge cited the mandatory death penalty prescribed under the Sokoto State Penal Code Law, 2019, for the offences established against the convicts.

He consequently sentenced each of the three men to death by hanging, ordering that they be hanged by the neck until they are dead.

The court, however, informed the convicts of their right to appeal the judgment before the Court of Appeal within 90 days.