The Chief Judge of Niger State, Justice Halima Ibrahim Abdulmalik, delivered a judgement in a case of culpable homicide against Stephen Jiya. He was found guilty of setting his mother ablaze, resulting in her death.
Justice Halima sentenced the accused person to death by hanging under Section 221 of the penal code law.
Stephen Jiya was arraigned by the office of the Attorney General of the State Ministry of Justice for setting his mother, Mrs. Comfort Jiya, a retired Director in the Niger State Ministry of Education, ablaze in December 2021.
He was arraigned before Justice Halima Ibrahim Abdulmalik on September 14, 2022, and hearings into the case commenced on November 23, 2022.
Justice Halima emphasised that the prosecutor established all the charges against the convict. She stated that the evidence and prosecuting witnesses presented before the court successfully proved that the convict was responsible for the killing of his mother.
The judge declared that the prosecution had proven its case against the defendant beyond a reasonable doubt. She expressed her conviction based on the testimonies of the prosecuting witnesses.
Justice Halima stated, “On the whole, the prosecution has proved its case beyond reasonable doubt against the defendant, and I hereby find you, Stephen Jiya, guilty of the offense of culpable homicide, contrary to Section 221 of the penal code.”
“In these circumstances, the sentence of the court upon you is that you should be hanged by the neck, electrocuted, executed, or injected with lethal injection until you are dead, and may the Lord have mercy on your soul,” she added.