31- year- old man to die by hanging for culpable homicide in Niger
CHIEF Judge of Niger State, Justice Halima Ibrahim Abdulmalik has sentenced 31- year- old Hamza Mohammed to death by hanging after he was found guilty of twocount charges bordering on joint act and culpable homicide.
Mohammed was found guilty, convicted and sentenced to death over an incident that occurred during a free for all fight that erupted in a party between youths of Kpakungu area of Minna and youths of Barikin Saleh area of Minna.
During the incident, one Isah Mohammed was allegedly stabbed to death by one Baba Usman ( now at large).
Usman was said to have pursued the deceased with a knife along with the convict, Hamza until Usman stabbed Mohammed severally, which resulted in his death on the spot.
He was arraigned some times in August, 2015 by men of the Homicide Squad of the Niger State Police Command on two- count charges of joint act and culpable homicide, an offence punishable under section 79 and 221 of the penal code.
During the trial at the State High Court sitting in Minna, the convict denied participating in stabbing the deceased, arguing that he and Usman pursued the deceased but Usman was the person that stabbed him.
According to him, he only met the deceased in his own pool of blood.
He, however, admitted that himself and Usman ( now at large), both pursued the deceased with a knife in an effort to stab him, adding that Usman had already stabbed him before he reached the spot where the deceased was killed.
In a two- hour judgement, Justice Abdulmalik held that the two- count charges of joint act and culpable homicide punishable under section 221 and section 79 of the penal code was established against the convict, Hamza.