Court sentences ex-soldier to death by hanging for murder of Islamic cleric Yobe
The Yobe State High Court in Potiskum has sentenced a dismissed soldier, Lance Corporal John Gabriel, to death by hanging for killing an Islamic cleric, Sheikh Goni Aisami.
The court also sentenced Corporal Adamu Gideon, an accomplice to the murder, to 10 years in prison.
Aisami, a popular Islamic scholar based in Gashua, was murdered in Karasuwa Local Government Area of Yobe State by Gideon whom he gave a free lift on his way from Kano to Gashua on August 22, 2022.
The Nigerian army dismissed the two soldiers after a joint commission of inquiry created in collaboration with the police found them guilty of murder.
Judge Usman Zanna Mohammed who delivered the verdict sentenced Gabriel with service number, N/A13/69/6522, attached to Battalion 241 Recce, Nguru and Gideon after finding them guilty of murder and conspiracy respectively.
In delivering the judgment, Justice Mohammed found that after a careful analysis of the facts before the court and the fact that the defendants had not provided essential witnesses to corroborate their allegations, they were convicted in accordance with the provisions of the law.
When asked if he had any objections, Gabriel confessed that he murdered the renowned Islamic cleric.
The Yobe State Government, through its Ministry of Justice, prosecuted the duo.
Source: www.lindaikejisblog.com