A state high court in Kebbi has handed down the death penalty to three armed robbers after the judge concluded that the prosecution proved its case beyond a reasonable doubt.
The ruling followed months of trial proceedings in which the court examined detailed testimonies, physical exhibits, and confessional statements linking the defendants to a coordinated robbery operation that left multiple victims dispossessed of cash and valuables.
According to the court, the defendants were tried on a nine-count charge under the Robbery and Firearms (Special Provisions) Act, 2004, alongside relevant sections of the Kebbi State Penal Code Law, 2021, which prescribe severe punishment for violent crimes involving weapons.
The verdict was delivered by a Kebbi State High Court sitting in Birnin Kebbi, where Justice Hassan Kuwa found Abdul Mohammed, Surajo Umar, and Aliyu Abdullahi guilty of armed robbery and criminal conspiracy.
Prosecutors, led by Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions Farida Muhammad, presented eight witnesses during the trial.
Among them were victims identified as a retired banker, a former commissioner, and another resident who testified on the circumstances surrounding the robbery incidents.
Also, several exhibits were admitted in evidence, including a cutlass, cash amounting to N2.85 million, a plasma television, footwear, clothing items, and written confessional statements obtained from the defendants in both Hausa and English.
In his judgment, Justice Kuwa said the prosecution’s evidence was “clear, consistent, and compelling,” noting that it remained largely unchallenged throughout the trial.
“The testimonies of the prosecution witnesses were corroborated and not contradicted by the defendants,” he stated.
The court further observed that the accused persons neither called witnesses nor tendered exhibits in their defence, relying solely on oral denials, which the judge described as insufficient to dislodge the prosecution’s case.
Consequently, the court held that the offences had been proved beyond a reasonable doubt and sentenced the three convicts to death in line with the mandatory provisions of the law.
Although defence counsel, Barrister C.C. Ojun, appealed for leniency and urged the court to consider substituting the sentence with life imprisonment, Justice Kuwa ruled that only the Governor of Kebbi State, Nasir Idris, holds the constitutional authority to grant clemency in such matters.
