Death Sentence Suspended! Supreme Court Shocks Nation With Retrial Verdict

Supreme Court Orders Retrial of Death Row Inmate Yahaya Ibrahim Over Improper Arraignment

The Supreme Court has upheld the ruling of the Court of Appeal which ordered a retrial of Yahaya Ibrahim, a man convicted and sentenced to death by a Kano State High Court for culpable homicide, on the grounds of improper arraignment.

According to iReporter Online, the five-member panel of justices, in a unanimous decision delivered by Justice Tijjani Abubakar, dismissed Yahaya’s appeal, stating it lacked merit. The apex court held that the Court of Appeal sitting in Kaduna was right in nullifying the initial trial and directing that the appellant be re-arraigned for a proper plea to be taken on the amended charges.

Yahaya had earlier been convicted alongside eight others for conspiracy, culpable homicide punishable by death, and causing grievous bodily harm. They were accused of killing Alhaji Sabo Jae in Garin Babba Village, Kano, on November 3, 2011, by attacking him in his sleep with sticks and swords. Another victim, Idris Muhammad Jae, was severely beaten during the same incident.

While the prosecution called four witnesses and tendered ten exhibits during the trial, Yahaya’s defence presented 12 witnesses. On June 30, 2014, the trial court found them guilty, sentencing them to death and a further month of imprisonment for causing hurt.

Yahaya appealed to the Court of Appeal, which, on March 26, 2019, overturned the conviction and ordered a retrial before a different judge. Dissatisfied, Yahaya further appealed to the Supreme Court, asking for his acquittal instead of a retrial. His counsel, Emmanuel Ekpenyong, argued that the Court of Appeal did not fully consider the necessary factors before ordering a new trial.

According to iReporter Online, Ekpenyong cited constitutional provisions that his client was detained for nearly two years before arraignment and argued that the prolonged delay, combined with the lack of fresh evidence and the destruction of critical exhibits by insurgents, made a retrial unjust and impractical. He maintained that Yahaya’s alleged confessional statement was inadmissible, having been obtained under duress and without corroboration.

However, the Kano State government, through its counsel Haruna Mohammed, urged the apex court to dismiss the appeal. The state maintained that the failure to properly arraign Yahaya was a constitutional breach, but the appellate court acted within its discretion to order a retrial, as provided by law.

In the lead judgment delivered on May 23, Justice Abubakar affirmed that the trial court had indeed failed to meet legal requirements during Yahaya’s arraignment, rendering the proceedings null. He ruled, “The appellant’s appeal is patently lacking in merit and therefore deserves to be and is hereby dismissed.”

According to iReporter Online, the court subsequently affirmed the March 2019 decision of the Court of Appeal and ordered Yahaya Ibrahim to return to the trial court to face a fresh trial for the charges brought against him.

”IREPORTER REPORTS”