A High Court sitting in Jos on Monday
the 3rd of February 2020 sentenced two men, Dayabu Ahmad and Umar
Aliyu, to death by hanging for armed robbery. Justice S.P Gang found the men
guilty of criminal conspiracy and armed robbery.
The judge held that going by the findings of the court; the
convicts armed themselves with dangerous weapons, blocked the Barkin Ladi/Mangu
road and robbed commuters of their belongings. He said: “This sentence is
mandatory, as the law states that any person convicted of armed robbery shall
be punished with death by hanging. “The sentence of this court upon you is that
you, Dayabu Ahmad and Umar Aliyu, will be hanged until you are dead. May God
have mercy on your soul.” The judge also handed down three years imprisonment
on the convicts for criminal conspiracy.
The two men were arraigned on February 19, 2019. The police
charged them with criminal conspiracy and armed robbery, contrary to Sections
6(b) and 1 (1&2) of the Fire Arms Act punishable with death upon
conviction. The prosecution counsel told the court that the convicts on January
26, 2019, on the Barkin Ladi/Mangu Road armed with weapons and dispossessed
travelers of their belongings. The convicts in their confessional statement to
the police admitted to committing the crime, blamed the devil for their actions,
adding that they were “broke.”
The items
stolen by the convicts include 1kg of meat, a gallon of groundnut oil, a packet
of Maggi cubes, watermelon and N100, 000 cash. Counsel to the accused, Mr.
Thomas Ochigbo, said he would get a copy of the judgment, study it and look for
possible grounds of appeal against the death sentence imposed on the convicts.
(NAN)
