BY TAIBAT UMMI YAKUBU
A Sokoto State High Court has sentenced suspected kidnapper Ibrahim Usman, popularly known as Dan Iyali, to death by hanging over his role in the abduction and killing of three residents of Goronyo Local Government Area.
The conviction was secured by the Department of State Services (DSS) following a trial arising from a deadly attack on Bare Village in September 2023.
Usman faced a four-count charge involving criminal conspiracy, kidnapping, culpable homicide punishable by death and voluntarily causing grievous hurt without provocation.
Delivering judgment, Justice Mohammed Mohammed ruled that the prosecution had established its case beyond reasonable doubt.
The court consequently sentenced Usman to life imprisonment for kidnapping and death by hanging for culpable homicide.
The case dates back to September 9, 2023, when Usman and several other suspects who remain at large allegedly stormed Bare Village armed with guns.
According to evidence presented before the court, the attackers opened fire and began taking residents away.
Among those abducted were Ahmad Alhassan, Umar Usman, Adamu Haliru, popularly known as Naibi, Alhaji Sule Muhammad and Abdulmalik Muazu.
The victims were reportedly taken deep into Marmaro Forest in the Giayawa District, where the situation turned even more deadly.
The prosecution told the court that Usman shot Alhaji Shuaibu Isah, also known as Sarkin Ruwa, as well as Umar Usman and Adamu Haliru, causing their deaths.
Two other victims, Ahmad Alhassan and Abdulmalik Muazu, were also shot and left behind in the forest.
Alhassan was reportedly shot in the neck, while Muazu sustained a gunshot wound to the groin. Both survived after they were later discovered and rescued by members of a local vigilante group.
Usman was eventually arrested in Bare Village in May 2024, several months after the attack.
He was subsequently brought before the court and prosecuted under relevant provisions of the Sokoto State Penal Code Law 2019.
The conviction adds to ongoing efforts by security agencies to bring suspects linked to kidnapping, terrorism-related violence and other serious crimes before the courts.
For the families of those killed in the attack, the judgment marks a major development in a case that began with a violent raid on a rural community and ended with three residents losing their lives.
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