A High Court sitting in Lokoja, Kogi State, has sentenced 24-year-old Dahiru Yusuf Abbah to death by hanging for the killing of his father, Dahiru Yusuf, in the Sarkin-Noma area of the state capital.
Justice M. M. Gwatana, in a judgment delivered on Wednesday, found Abbah guilty of culpable homicide punishable with death under Section 221 of the Kogi State Penal Code, 2019. The court held that the prosecution established beyond reasonable doubt that Abbah inflicted injuries on his father which eventually led to his death.
The incident occurred on October 5, 2024, when Abbah allegedly stabbed his father in the chest and back. The victim was taken to hospital but died four days later. During the trial, the prosecution called nine witnesses and tendered nine exhibits, including a blood-stained shirt, a knife, blood samples and digital forensic evidence. Although no witness directly saw the stabbing, the judge said the circumstantial evidence sufficiently linked Abbah to the killing.
The court, however, discharged and acquitted Abbah on the separate charge of criminal conspiracy, ruling that the prosecution failed to provide sufficient evidence to establish the offence. Defence lawyers Mohammed S. Inuwa and Mohammed S. Maihaja said they would appeal the judgment, while Abbah maintained his innocence and pleaded for clemency. The deceased’s family welcomed the verdict, saying it was sought to ensure justice rather than out of personal hatred.
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