Nigeria: Jigawa Court Sentences Two Kidnappers to Death

The condemned men were arrested in June 2021 and prosecuted with others now at large.

The Jigawa State High Court has sentenced two convicts described as notorious kidnappers to death by hanging.

The judge, Mohammed Kaugama, convicted Sani Mohammed and Babannan Saleh (alias Ustaz) on seven counts of abduction, criminal conspiracy, robbery, culpable homicide, and house trespass.

The suspects had, in June 2021, with others now at large, abducted one Hamidan Abdu of Shangel village in Ringim Local Government Area and others for ransom.

The court sentenced them to death by hanging for the offence of abduction, punishable under Section 27 of the Violence Against Person (Prohibitions) law No. 2 of Jigawa State, 2021.

The court also sentenced them to life imprisonment for robbery, which is punishable under Section 298 of the Penal Code, Cap 3 law of Jigawa State, 2012.

They also received three years in prison for criminal conspiracy, which is punishable under Section 97 of the Violence Against Person (prohibitions) law No. 2 of Jigawa State, 2021.

The state’s judiciary spokesperson, Abbas Wangara, said in a statement that the suspects robbed Mr Abdu of an unspecified amount of money and abducted him to Kotoro Fulani settlement in Fagen-gawo town of Garki Local Government Area.

He said they received a ransom of N20 million before releasing the suspect along the Gujungu–Hadejia road in the state.

Also, the convicts, together with others now at large, attacked one Eze Emmanuel in his shop at Kore village in Danbatta Local Government Area of Kano State and robbed him of an unspecified amount of money. They also abducted Mr Emmanuel and received a ransom of N14,650,000 before releasing him.

The court also convicted the second defendant, Mr Saleh, a.k.a. Ustaz, of another charge of culpable homicide, abduction, criminal conspiracy, and trespass.

According to the prosecution, Mr Saleh, 40, a resident of Dumfidawa Fulani camp in Mallam-madori LGA, together with others now at large, in 2021 abducted one Abdullahi Jarma of Maigatari town and demanded N100 million from his family as ransom.

“After a series of negotiations, the family of the abducted person sourced N2.5 million and gave the money to one Ahmed Nadabo to deliver to them for the release of Mr Jarma, but they shot and killed Mr Nadabo with a gun at the point of delivering the ransom,” Mr Wangara said.

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Also, the syndicate went ahead to Taura town, Taura LGA, and abducted one Kabiru Taura for whom they demanded N20 million as ransom.

Providing further clarification to our reporter on the cases, the state’s Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Bello Fanini, said the convicts were members of a syndicate that terrorised the state until they were arrested.

He said the syndicate masterminded almost all kidnappings for ransom in the state until their arrest in 2021.

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