Court remands 13 Niger State residents for beating village head to death
Thirteen persons have been arraigned before a Suleja High Court Three, in Niger State, for allegedly killing the Village Head of Lammbata, Alhaji Mohammed Abdulsafur.
The Village Head was gruesomely murdered in January 2023.
Office of the Attorney General of the state had arraigned the thirteen defendants on five count charges which bothered culpable homicide, disturbing of public peace, inciting disturbance, voluntarily causing grievous hurt by dangerous means and mischief by fire.
Assistant chief state counsel in the state ministry of justice, Barrister Mohammed Galadima, told the Court that the offenses are punishable under section of 221 of the penal code and joint act read together under section 79 of the penal code.
The charges read, ”That you Umar Ilyasu Sarki on the 14th day of January, 2023 at Lammbata within the jurisdiction of this honourable court had formed common intention with Hamza Umar Sarki, Dauda Umar Sarki, Abdulkareem Dantani,Yusuf Chaska, Zubairu Dabaka, Danbitso and Nda’allah Dagbq to commit an offence to wit: culpable homicide , in furtherance of which you went to the house of Mallam Mohammed Abdulsafur who is the Village Head of Lambata while armed with stones, cutlasses, sticks and other dangerous weapons, got him beaten to stupor and inflicted head injuries on him. You all thereby Committed an offence of joint act contrary to section 79 read together with section 221 of the penal code.”
When the five count charges were read to them by Justice Aisha Bawa Wodu and interpreted to them they all pleaded not guilty to the charges.
At this point, Counsel to the accused, Barrister Ahmed Baba Shehu applied for their bail adding that if granted the bail, they will provide a reasonable surety that would stand for them and that they will abide by any of the bail condition.
Objecting to the bail application, the Assistant Chief State Counsel, Barrister Mohammed Galadima told the court that he had filed a counter affidavit to object to the bail application as moved by the defense counsel and requested the court to adjourn the case to commence hearing into the matter.
Justice Aisha Bawa Wodu then adjourned the case to 17th October 2023 for Commencement of the case and ordered for their remand in correctional custody pending the ruling on the bail application.
Twenty nine of the accused were charged to court out of which thirteen were physically arraigned before Justice Aisha Wodu Bawa of Suleja High court Number Three, while sixteen of the defendants are said to be at large.
Similarly, two others are still in Minna correctional custody and expected to be brought before the Court in the next adjourned date.
Those in court are Umar Ilyasu Sarki, Hamza Umar Sarki, Dauda Umar Sarki, Abdulkareem Dantani, Yusuf Chaska Zubairu Dabaka Donbitso, Jibrin Garba Dende, and Ibrahim Mohammed.
Others include, Ilyasu Dantani, Yakubu Bisalla, Musa Mohammed, Adamu Yusuf, Yunusa Ibrahim Abdullahi Umaru, Musa Abubakar, Danladi Dashi, Mohammed Atiku and Usman Habib.
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