Hamza Mohammed has been condemned to death by hanging for fatally stabbing another man during a chaotic altercation in Niger State.
Mohammed and an accomplice, Baba Usman (currently evading capture), relentlessly pursued the victim, Isah Mohammed, until they caught up with him and inflicted fatal stab wounds.
The incident unfolded in 2015 during a party in the Kpakungu area of Minna, where clashes erupted between youths from Kpakungu and Barikin Saleh. Isah Mohammed fell victim to the violence, succumbing to his injuries inflicted by Hamza Mohammed and Baba Usman.
Initially arraigned in August 2015 by the Homicide division of the Niger State Police Command, Mohammed faced charges of joint act and culpable homicide under sections 79 and 221 of the penal code.
Although Mohammed denied direct involvement in the killing, he admitted to pursuing the victim alongside Baba Usman, wielding a knife with intent to harm. He claimed that Usman had inflicted the fatal wounds before he arrived at the scene.
In a two-hour judgment delivered by the Presiding High Court Judge and Niger State Chief Judge, Justice Halima Abdulmalik, Mohammed was found guilty on both counts. Justice Abdulmalik ruled that the prosecution had sufficiently proven joint act and culpable homicide beyond a reasonable doubt, mandating a sentence of death by hanging for Mohammed.
She concluded, "The verdict of culpable homicide punishable by death is mandatory. Hamza Mohammed, you are hereby convicted and sentenced to death by hanging until you are dead. May the Lord have mercy on your soul."
