Ex-soldier To Hang For Killing Islamic Scholar In Yobe
A Yobe State High Court has sentenced a dismissed soldier, Lance Corporal John Gabriel, to death by hanging for the murder of a prominent Islamic scholar, Sheikh Goni Aisami, in Karasuwa Local Government Area of the state.
The court also sentenced another dismissed soldier, Lance Corporal Adamu Gideon, to 10 years imprisonment for conspiracy in the crime.
Justice Usman Zanna Mohammed delivered the judgement on Tuesday in Potiskum, after finding the two convicts guilty of the charges against them.
The court heard that Gabriel, with Nigerian Army number N/A13/69/6522 attached to 241 Recce Battalion, Nguru, shot and killed Sheikh Aisami on August 22, 2022, while the latter was giving him a lift from Kano to Gashua.
The court also heard that Gideon, who was with Gabriel at the time of the incident, helped him to dispose of the body of the deceased and his car.
The prosecution, led by the Yobe State Ministry of Justice, presented 10 witnesses and 16 exhibits to prove its case, while the defence, led by Barrister Abdulrahman Abubakar, presented only two witnesses and no exhibits.
The defence counsel argued that the killing was accidental and that the soldiers were acting under the influence of drugs.
However, the judge dismissed their arguments as untenable and lacking in evidence, and said that the prosecution had proved its case beyond reasonable doubt.
He said that the convicts had committed a heinous crime that deserved the maximum punishment under the law.
He therefore sentenced Gabriel to death by hanging and Gideon to 10 years imprisonment at the Nigerian Correctional Service.
He also ordered that the car and other belongings of the deceased be returned to his family.
The judge expressed his sympathy with the family of the late Sheikh Aisami, who was a respected Islamic scholar and preacher in the state.
He also commended the Yobe State Government for pursuing justice for the victim and his family.
PRISTINEGIST reports that the judgement was greeted with applause and relief by the relatives and followers of the deceased, who had been demanding justice since the incident occurred.
