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The Chief Judge of Taraba, Justice Joel Agya, issued a death sentence by hanging for Yusufa Adamu and Adamu Abdullahi, convicted of kidnapping Balkisu Kambe and Maryam Musa in the Gashaka local government area of the state.
Justice Agya, delivering the judgment at Taraba High Court 1 in Jalingo, declared that the prosecution counsel had convincingly proven that the duo committed the crime in 2019. They were also found guilty of criminal conspiracy and illegal possession of firearms.
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According to the judge, both defendants had individually confessed to the kidnapping of Balkisu Kambe on September 29, 2019, at Angwan America in Baruwa, and that of Maryam Musa on September 2, 2019, at Serti in Gashaka LGA, where they collected ransom. One of the victims, Kambe, identified the defendants as members of the gang that abducted her, revealing that they unmasked themselves during the abduction and demanded a ransom.
Referring to Section three, paragraph eight of the Kidnapping and Abduction Law of Taraba State (2019), Justice Agya pronounced the death sentence by hanging, adding that the defendants have the right to apply to the Committee on the Prerogative of Mercy for a possible commutation of the sentence to life imprisonment, especially considering no lives were lost during the kidnapping.
The prosecution counsel, Mr. Samson Gimba, praised the judgment, deeming it sound and commendable.
However, the defendants’ counsel, Mr. Mahanar Puki, appealed for mercy, highlighting that the convicts were first-time offenders, showed remorse throughout the trial, and should be shown leniency.
