NIGERIA: COURT SENTENCES ARMED ROBBER TO DEATH BY HANGING

November 19, 2013: In Nigeria, a Zamfara High Court in Gusau sentenced Babangida Bello, 28, to death by hanging for armed robbery.
Mr. Bello, a resident of Gusau, was found guilty for the offence which contravened Section 1 (2) of the Robbery and Firearms (Special Provisions Act) 2004.
The convict had been standing trial since February 2010, when he was arrested and accused of robbing Umar Usman of a motorcycle valued at N93,000.
The accused was said to have inflicted grievous harm on Mr. Usman with a cutlass during the robbery, which took place in the Kwanar Mailaina neighbourhood of Gusau.
Prior to the judgment, the counsel to the accused, Musa Dawa, rested his case with a no-case-submission.
However, the prosecution counsel, Abdullah Ma’aji, presented five witnesses, a confessional statement and the cutlass, which the accused used in committing the crime, to support his case.
In the judgment, Justice Kulu Aliyu said that the court was convinced beyond reasonable doubt that the accused had committed the offence.
She said that the evidence presented by the prosecution was tenable and, therefore, sentenced the accused to death by hanging.
She, however, said that the convict had 30 days to file an appeal against the judgment. (Sources: Premium Times, 19/11/2013)