A dismissed soldier, Lance Corporal John Gabriel, has been sentenced to death by hanging for killing a cleric, Sheikh Goni Aisami, in Yobe State.
Gabriel’s colleague, Lance Corporal Adamu Gideon, was also sentenced to 10 years imprisonment at the Nigerian Correctional Service.
The duo were convicted and sentenced by a Yobe State High Court sitting in Potiskum on Tuesday.
convicted
Gabriel, with Nigerian Army number N/A13/69/6522 attached to 241 Recce Battalion, Nguru, and Gideon, were found guilty of the offences of murder and conspiracy, respectively.
Delivering the judgement, the presiding judge, Justice Usman Zanna Mohammed, held that after careful consideration of the facts before the court, he sentenced the two convicts in line with the provisions of the law.
Justice Mohammed said her judgement was in part spurred by the failure of the defendants to provide essential witnesses to corroborate their claim.
Recall that the slain prominent Islamic scholar based in Gashua was murdered in Karasuwa Local Government Area of Yobe State by a soldier whom he gave a lift to while on his way to Gashua from Kano on August 22, 2022.
Angered by the action of the ex-soldiers, the Yobe State Government, through the Ministry of Justice, took the matter to court, which led to the judgement.