A High Court of Kogi State on Tuesday sentenced Jibrin Halilu to death, after being prosecuted for kidnapping and murdering his neighbour, who ran a hotel in Obajana.
The Court, presided by Justice Abdul Nicodemus Awulu, found Halilu guilty on the charges of conspiracy and kidnapping, in contravention of Sections 12, 6 (1), and 4 (3)(a) of the Kogi State Kidnapping and Other Related Offences Prohibition Law, 2023.
The court subsequently sentenced Halilu to death.
According to the prosecution, on March 23, 2023, Halilu and other members of his armed gang stormed Everready hotel, Angwa-Tiv, in Obajana town, abducting the proprietor, Uche Andrew Offo.
Even though Offo’s family handed his abductors the N2.5 million ransom they demanded, they, nonetheless, killed him.
The prosecutor told the court that operatives of the DSS arrested Halilu on December 4, 2025.
A source within the DSS said while in captivity, Offo recognised Halilu as his neighbour, which made the kidnappers to kill him.
“Further investigations by the DSS also linked Halilu and his gang to the April 2, 2023 kidnapping of one Ibrahim Abdullahi, a resident of Oshokoshoko community in Lokoja, from whom the gang collected a N5 million ransom,” the source said.
