Sokoto Court Awards Death Sentence to Three CJTF Members Over Killing
By Fahad Faruk Galadanchi
A Sokoto State High Court has sentenced three members of the Civilian Joint Task Force (CJTF) to death by hanging for criminal conspiracy, armed robbery and culpable homicide.
The convicts, identified as Gaji Hassan, Abdullahi Goni Gudusu and Modu Bukar, were found guilty of robbing Babangida Nasiru of N260,000 and subsequently killing him in Kagara village, Goronyo Local Government Area, in September 2024.
The judgment was delivered on Thursday, October 22, 2026, by Justice Kabiru Muhammad in Suit No. SS/78C/2026, between the State and the three defendants.
According to evidence presented before the court, the defendants, armed with rifles, intercepted Nasiru and a female companion at about 4:30 p.m. and took them into the bush.
The prosecution told the court that the defendants collected N260,000 from Nasiru and kept him in their custody. His body was later discovered with gunshot wounds to the chest and neck.
Delivering his judgment, Justice Muhammad held that the prosecution had proved the charges against the defendants, relying on evidence that included the testimony of an eyewitness who survived the incident.
The judge dismissed the defendants’ assertion that they had released Nasiru, observing that they failed to offer a satisfactory explanation regarding his death.
Justice Muhammad subsequently sentenced each of the three men to death by hanging in accordance with the mandatory provisions of the Sokoto State Penal Code Law, 2019.
The court also granted the convicts 90 days within which to appeal the judgment.
