Herder to d!e by hanging for killing 19 year old man in Borno
A High Court in Maiduguri has sentenced an 18-year-old herdsman, Adamu Mohammed, to death after finding him guilty of culpable homicide for killing 19-year-old Adamu Ali during a violent clash in Auno, Konduga Local Government Area of Borno State.
Justice Mohammed Maina ruled that the prosecution proved beyond reasonable doubt that Mohammed struck Ali on the head with a cutlass during a fight in the bush on January 19, 2025. Ali was later pronounced dead at the State Specialist Hospital in Maiduguri.
According to court records, Mohammed initially pleaded guilty, but the judge entered a not-guilty plea on his behalf due to the capital nature of the offence. The prosecution presented two witnesses and tendered several exhibits, including the defendant’s extra-judicial statements and a medical report. In both statements, Mohammed admitted that he and the victim fought with cutlasses.
The defence argued he acted in self defence, but the court rejected the claim, pointing to inconsistencies in his account and noting there was no evidence he was unable to retreat or avoid the fatal strike. Justice Maina held that the force used was excessive and unjustified, and that Mohammed’s actions satisfied the legal elements of culpable homicide punishable with death under Section 191(a) of the Borno State Penal Code Law, 2023.
The judge then sentenced him to death by hanging.
