Man to die by hanging for stabbing women to death

A middle-aged man, identified as Danladi Ichado has been sentenced to death by hanging by a High court in Lokoja for stabbing two women to death.

The prosecution led by Inedu Opaluwa, Senior Legal Officer with the state Ministry of Justice told the court that the suspect committed the alleged offence on June 6, 2020.

Charged with Culpable Homicide, Contrary to Section 221(a) of the Penal Code, Ichado was said to have committed the offence on the 6th of June 2020 at Oko-Ojuwo, Ogaji in Ankpa,

He was said to have stabbed the women with a short cutlass on the head and in the chest leading to their death.

Opaluwa called six witnesses and tendered four exhibits while the defendant called one witness and gave evidence in his defence.

The prosecution alleged that the convict attacked Rabiyetu Yusufu and Jemila Yakubu with a lethal weapon and therefore, appealed to the court to hold that he intended to kill the women based on the weapon he used.

He disclosed that the three women – Rabiyetu Yusufu, Jemila Yakubu and Rekiya Rilwan were going to farm on the fateful day when the defendant suddenly appeared from the bush wearing a face mask and pounced on them.

The suspect in his defence tried to establish an alibi that he was at home harvesting palm fruits on the day of the incident and therefore was not the one who attacked the women.

However, delivering judgment, Justice Nicodemus Awulu, held that the prosecution proved its case beyond reasonable doubt that the convict was presumed to have intended to kill the women based on the weapon he used.

The judge held that the evidence of Rekiya Rilwan (PW1), who was an eyewitness at the scene of the crime had fixed the defendant and demolished his alibi.

Awulu, therefore, convicted the defendant and sentenced him to death by hanging, NAN reports.