Sokoto Court sentences three CJTF members to death

A Sokoto State High Court has handed down death sentences to three members of the Civilian Joint Task Force, CJTF, for their roles in an armed robbery that resulted in the death of a man in Goronyo Local Government Area.

The defendants, Gaji Hassan, Abdullahi Goni Gudusu and Modu Bukar, were convicted of criminal conspiracy, armed robbery and culpable homicide by Justice Kabiru Muhammad on Thursday.

The court’s Public Relations Officer, Nakwanta Muhammad Garba, disclosed this in a statement detailing the judgment.

The case arose from an incident in Kagara village on September 19, 2024, when the three men allegedly intercepted Babangida Nasiru and a woman while carrying rifles.

During the proceedings, the court heard that the pair were taken into the bush, where Nasiru was dispossessed of N260,000 and detained. He was subsequently discovered dead, with bullet wounds to his chest and neck.

The prosecution presented two witnesses to support its case. Justice Muhammad said the account given by the surviving eyewitness was consistent and credible.

The judge dismissed the defendants’ assertion that they had freed Nasiru, noting that they did not provide a satisfactory explanation for his death. He relied on the legal principle of “last seen” in reaching his decision.

The court also accepted the defendants’ confessional statements, ruling that they had been made voluntarily. Their claims that they were tortured were not substantiated, according to the judge.

Justice Muhammad held that the eyewitness evidence was sufficient to prove the charges against the defendants.

Consequently, the court imposed the death penalty by hanging on each convict, in line with the punishment prescribed by the Sokoto State Penal Code Law, 2019.