An Adamawa State High Court has sentenced three men to death for kidnapping two Catholic priests in February 2025, marking the seventh death sentence secured by the Department of State Services (DSS) in 2026.
Justice Christopher Mapeo convicted Taledo Demiel, Namomai Medan and Mikaila Yusuf on multiple charges, including criminal conspiracy to commit kidnapping, kidnapping, conspiracy to commit armed robbery, armed robbery, harbouring a kidnapped person and negotiating to receive ransom.
The case involved Reverend Fathers Matthew Dutsemi and Abraham Sauman, who were abducted in Adamawa State in February 2025.
The court found the defendants guilty of the offences and imposed the death penalty for kidnapping, armed robbery and other related crimes.
The latest judgment follows a series of capital convictions secured by the DSS in different states this year.
On May 20, an Ekiti State High Court sentenced Ibrahim Abubakar and Abdullahi Abubakar to death by hanging for kidnapping.
On June 3, a Federal High Court in Abuja sentenced four men to death over the June 2022 attack on St Francis Catholic Church in Owo, Ondo State,
in which scores of worshippers were killed. The convicts were Idris Abdulmalik Omeiza, Alqasim Idris, Jamiu Abdulmalik and Abdulkareem Idris.
A Katsina State High Court sentenced arms courier Hauwa’u Mukhtar to death by hanging on June 15, while a Kogi State High Court sentenced Jibrin Halilu to death the following day for kidnapping and murdering his neighbour in Obajana.
On June 22, a Sokoto State High Court sentenced Muhammed Yusuf Sallau, Jabbi Ahlaji Yale and Kabiru Muhammed to death by hanging for terrorism and transporting arms.
Most recently, on September 28, another Sokoto State High Court sentenced Ibrahim Usman, also known as Dan Iyali, to death by hanging over his involvement in the killing of three kidnapped people.
The latest ruling adds to the growing number of capital convictions secured in cases involving kidnapping, terrorism and other violent crimes.
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