A 24-year-old man, Dahiru Yusuf Abbah, has been sentenced to death by hanging by a Kogi State High Court in Lokoja for killing his father, Dahiru Yusuf.
Justice M.M. Gwatana found Abbah guilty of culpable homicide after ruling that the prosecution had established beyond reasonable doubt that he inflicted injuries on his father, which led to his death.
The court, however, dismissed the separate charge of criminal conspiracy against the defendant for lack of sufficient evidence.
The incident occurred on October 5, 2024, in the Sarkin-Noma area of Lokoja. The victim, who was stabbed in the chest and back, was taken to hospital and later confirmed dead on October 9 from injuries sustained during the attack.
Abbah was subsequently arraigned on two counts of culpable homicide and criminal conspiracy under Sections 221 and 97(1) of the Kogi State Penal Code, 2019, as amended.
During the trial, the prosecution, led by M. Abaji, called nine witnesses, including the deceased’s wife, Hajia Jumai Dahiru, and the defendant’s siblings, Nafisat Dahiru and Auwwal Dahiru.
Nine exhibits were also tendered before the court, including a blood-stained shirt belonging to the defendant, the deceased’s blood sample, a knife, a digital forensic report and a compact disc analysis.
Justice Gwatana said the prosecution did not have an eyewitness to the stabbing but held that the circumstantial evidence presented was sufficient to establish the defendant’s guilt.
The judge particularly relied on the blood-stained clothing and testimonies from members of the deceased’s family.
The court also noted that Abbah did not call a witness in his defence apart from an Islamic cleric who testified about inheritance.
Justice Gwatana dismissed the testimony as irrelevant, stressing that the case before the court concerned culpable homicide and not an inheritance dispute.
The judge also noted that three people named by the defendant as potential alibi witnesses failed to appear in court.
Although the court found Abbah guilty of culpable homicide, it held that the prosecution failed to establish the criminal conspiracy charge.
The defence counsel, Mohammed S. Inuwa and Mohammed S. Maihaja, said they would appeal the judgment, arguing that the court relied on evidence they considered inadmissible.
The convict maintained his innocence and pleaded for clemency.
However, the head of the deceased’s family, Yusuf Bala, welcomed the judgment, saying the family was seeking justice rather than revenge.
“We have nothing against the defendant, but we wanted justice to be done to serve as a deterrent to others,” Bala said.
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