RismadarVoice Reporters
January 9, 2026
The State High Court sitting in Birnin Kebbi, Kebbi State, has sentenced three men to death by hanging after finding them guilty of armed robbery and criminal conspiracy.
The convicts: Abdul Mohammed, also known as Audu Dukku; Surajo Umar, also known as Liman; and Aliyu Abdullahi, were convicted on nine counts following a trial that lasted over one year.
Delivering judgment, Justice Hassan Shehu-Kuwa of Birnin Kebbi High Court No. 7 held that the prosecution proved its case beyond reasonable doubt and successfully established the guilt of the defendants as charged.
The trio were arraigned on November 17, 2023, and charged under Sections 1(2)(a) and 6(b) of the Robbery and Firearms (Special Provisions) Act, 2004, as well as Section 304 of the Kebbi State Penal Code Law, 2021.
The prosecution, led by the Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions in the Kebbi State Ministry of Justice, Farida Muhammad, called eight witnesses during the trial.
Several exhibits were tendered, admitted by the court, including a cutlass, a pair of rubber shoes, a plasma television set, ₦2.85 million in cash, a black cap, and the defendants’ confessional statements recorded in both Hausa and English.
Justice Shehu-Kuwa ruled that the testimonies of Prosecution Witnesses 1, 3, 6, and 8 were credible, consistent, well corroborated, noting that they were not discredited under cross-examination.
The court placed particular reliance on the testimony of PW1, Hamza Dandare, who positively identified the first defendant, Abdul Mohammed (Audu Dukku), as one of the robbers who attacked him at his residence, opposite the Mopol Barracks in the Badariya area of Birnin Kebbi.
According to the court, items stolen during the attack included cash, mobile phones, foreign currencies, and other valuables.
The judge further observed that the defendants did not call any witnesses or tender exhibits in their defence, opting instead to testify on their own behalf after pleading not guilty at arraignment.
Having found that all the essential elements of the offences were proved, Justice Shehu-Kuwa sentenced the three convicts to death in accordance with the mandatory provisions of the law.
Following the judgment, defence counsel, Barrister C. C. Ojun, appealed for leniency, urging the court to consider precedents where death sentences were commuted to life imprisonment or lesser terms.
However, the judge held that the court was bound by law to impose the prescribed punishment, adding that only the Governor of Kebbi State, Dr Nasir Idris, has the constitutional authority to grant clemency.
