Court Sentences Two To Death By Hanging For Kidnapping In Taraba

Court Sentences Two To Death By Hanging For Kidnapping In Taraba

In a significant legal development, Chief Judge Joel Agya of Taraba State has handed down a death sentence by hanging to Yusufa Adamu and Adamu Abdullahi for the kidnapping of Balkisu Kambe and Maryam Musa in Gashaka Local Government Area of the state…..READ ALSO Court Sentences Company Director To Prison Over N99m Fraud

Delivering the judgment in Jalingo, Justice Agya affirmed that the prosecution had successfully established its case beyond a reasonable doubt, emphasizing that the duo committed the crime in 2019.

Prosecution Counsel Samson Gimba outlined that Musa was kidnapped on September 2, 2019, in Serti, while Kambe was abducted at Angwan America in Baruwa on September 29, 2019.

In addition to the death sentence for kidnapping, Adamu and Abdullahi were also found guilty of criminal conspiracy and illegal possession of firearms, each receiving a 10-year sentence without the option of a fine. Justice Agya clarified that these sentences would be effective from 2019 when they were arrested and detained.

The judge noted that the defendants had confessed to the crime and demanded ransom. Kambe identified the defendants as part of the gang that abducted her, emphasizing that they unmasked themselves during her captivity and demanded a ransom of N1 million, which was paid by her husband.

Under Section Three, Paragraph 8 of the Kidnapping and Abduction Law of Taraba 2019, Justice Agya sentenced Adamu and Abdullahi to death by hanging, offering them the option to appeal to the Committee on the Prerogative of Mercy for a commuted sentence to life imprisonment, considering that no lives were lost during the kidnapping.

Gimba praised the judgment as sound and commendable, while the defendants’ counsel, Mahanar Puki, had pleaded for mercy, citing their remorsefulness and first-time offender status. However, the judge upheld the severity of the sentence, emphasizing the gravity of their crimes.