A High Court of Adamawa State has sentenced three men to death for kidnapping two Catholic priests, Reverend Fathers Matthew Dutsemi and Abraham Sauman, in February 2025. The presiding judge, Justice Christopher Mapeo, found the defendants — Taledo Demiel, Namomai Medan and Mikaila Yusuf — guilty of criminal conspiracy to…...
A High Court of Adamawa State has sentenced three men to death for kidnapping two Catholic priests, Reverend Fathers Matthew Dutsemi and Abraham Sauman, in February 2025.
The presiding judge, Justice Christopher Mapeo, found the defendants — Taledo Demiel, Namomai Medan and Mikaila Yusuf — guilty of criminal conspiracy to commit kidnapping, kidnapping, conspiracy to commit armed robbery, armed robbery, harbouring a kidnapped person and negotiating to receive ransom for the priests’ release.
The death sentence is the seventh secured by the Department of State Services (DSS) in 2026.
On May 20, the Ekiti State High Court sentenced Ibrahim Abubakar and Abdullahi Abubakar to death by hanging for kidnapping.
Two weeks later, on June 3, a Federal High Court in Abuja sentenced four men to death by hanging for their roles in the June 2022 massacre at St. Francis Catholic Church in Owo, Ondo State, where scores of worshippers were killed.
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The convicts were identified as Idris Abdulmalik Omeiza, Alqasim Idris, Jamiu Abdulmalik and Abdulkareem Idris.
On June 15, a Katsina State High Court sentenced a female arms courier, Hauwa’u Mukhtar, to death by hanging.
The following day, June 16, a Kogi State High Court sentenced Jibrin Halilu to death by hanging for kidnapping and murdering his neighbour in Obajana, an industrial town in the state.
On June 22, a Sokoto State High Court sentenced three men — Muhammed Yusuf Sallau, Jabbi Ahlaji Yale and Kabiru Muhammed — to death by hanging for terrorism and transporting arms.
More recently, on September 28, another Sokoto State High Court sentenced Ibrahim Usman, also known as Dan Iyali, to death by hanging over his involvement in the killing of three kidnapped victims in the state.