A Sokoto State High Court has sentenced three members of the Civilian Joint Task Force (CJTF) to death by hanging after finding them guilty of criminal conspiracy, armed robbery, and culpable homicide.
The convicts, Gaji Hassan, Abdullahi Goni Gudusu, and Modu Bukar, were found guilty of killing Babangida Nasiru after allegedly robbing him of 260,000 naira in Kagara village, Goronyo Local Government Area.
Justice Kabiru Muhammad delivered the judgment on Thursday in suit number SS/78C/2026, titled The State vs Gaji Hassan and Two Others.
The court stated that the incident happened on September 19, 2024, around 4:30 p.m., when the three convicts, armed with rifles, stopped Nasiru and a woman and took them into the bush.
The court heard that the defendants took N260,000 from Nasiru and kept him with them. He was later found dead with gunshot wounds to his chest and neck.
During the trial, the prosecution called two witnesses. The court found the surviving eyewitness’s evidence credible and consistent. The judge rejected the defendants’ claim that they had released the deceased, saying they did not explain the circumstances of his death.
The court also relied on the doctrine of last seen, which means those last seen with the deceased must explain the circumstances of the person’s death.
Justice Muhammad also said the defendants’ confessional statements were voluntary and could be used as evidence, noting that their claims of torture were not supported.
The judge ruled that the surviving eyewitness’s testimony was enough to prove the prosecution’s case against the defendants.
When sentencing the three men, the court referred to the mandatory death penalty under the Sokoto State Penal Code Law, 2019, for the offences they were found guilty of.
Justice Muhammad subsequently sentenced each of the convicts 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 at the Court of Appeal within 90 days.