Court sentences man to death for Kidnap, murder in Kogi
Kogi High Court Sentences Man to Death for Kidnapping and Murder
A High Court in Kogi State has sentenced Jibrin Halilu to death for kidnapping and murdering his neighbor. The ruling was issued by Justice Abdul Nicodemus Awulu on Tuesday after Halilu was found guilty of conspiracy and kidnapping, violating several provisions of the Kogi State Kidnapping and Other Related Offences Prohibition Law of 2023.
The charges stemmed from an incident on March 23, 2023, when Halilu and his accomplices abducted Uche Andrew Offo, the owner of Everready Hotel in Obajana town. Despite the family paying a ransom of 2.5 million naira, Offo was subsequently killed.
Halilu was arrested by operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS) on December 4, 2025.
In a separate case, the Kogi High Court also sentenced four individuals—Idris Abdulmalik Omeiza, Al Qasim Idris, Jamiu Abdulmalik, and Abdulhaleem Idris—to death by hanging. Their sentences were linked to an attack that resulted in the deaths of more than 40 worshippers and injuries to over 100 others.
These recent convictions in Kogi and Katsina State follow a landmark June 3, 2026 ruling by a Federal High Court in Abuja, which sentenced four men to death for their involvement in a terrorist attack on St. Francis Catholic Church in Owo, Ondo State, on June 5, 2022.
