A High Court sitting in Yola, the Adamawa state Capital has sentenced a 35 year old, Mohammed Goni for 27 years in prison after he was found guilty of false pretence as kidnapper.
The presiding judge, Justice Abdul-Azeez Waziri, had while pronouncing the sentence, said that Mohammed Goini of Sabon Pegi Song Local Government Area, Adamawa was found guilty of the offence.
The convict who is a driver, was earlier arraigned before the court over allegation of false representation as a kidnapper or abducted person, which is punishable under section 252(2) of Adamawa state Penal Law, 2018.
Mohammed Goni on September 2019, at Sigire, a village along Song-Gombi road, under false pretence, presented himself as a kidnapped person for the purpose of extorting money from Alh. Husseini Garba, his boss.
He was also accused of posing as a kidnapper sometimes in October, 2019 at Song LGA with the intention of collecting ransom from his boss where he called him through telephone and demanded that he should pay him #100,000, failure of which he will kidnap him, which his boss paid.
Again, Mohammed Goni, in January, 2020 at Song LGA with an intention to commit kidnapping for ransom, called one Innocent Nkapuchire through telephone and demanded that he pays him #500,000, failure of which he will kidnap him.
Mohammed Goni, in an evidence tendered in court, narrated that he left his house in September, 2019 at about 9:00pm to a village known as Sigire along Gombi-Song road, saying that after a day, he called his wife and asked her to notify his boss, Alhaji Husseini Garba that he has been kidnapped, and that his abductors were demanding ransom from him to secure his release.
Goni disclosed that when he came back home the following morning, he told his sympathisers that his abductors released him on condition that he will provide #150,000, to add to the little he had, or else the said kidnappers will still come after him, and that his sympathisers contributed the sum of #5000 for him.
According to him, a month after, he called his boss through telephone with a new sim card, changed his voice and told him that he is a kidnapper, and demanding #100, 000 from him.
The following day, he said that he called his boss again, changed his voice and directed him to go and give the money to his son ie Mohammed's son, and that his boss did as he( the convict) commanded, saying when he collected the money from his biological son, he used it and repaired his car.
Goni narrated that 3 months later, his 5 year old son, Abubakar Goni became ill, and that when he took him to the hospital in Song, the doctor told him that his son needed blood, and he was without a dime.
According to him, he decided to call one Igbo man, Innocent Nkapuchire, where he told him that he is kidnapper and asked him to give him #500,000 or else they will come and kidnap him, saying that his effort was to get money so as to treat his son.
He stated that the Igbo man told him that he only had #10,000, and that he (Goni) later called the Igbo man and told him to add #10,000 so as to make it #20,000.
The convict added that when the Igbo man agreed to provide #20,000, he then asked him to bring the money to Teachers' College (TC) Song in the evening, but he refused and said except if he (Mohammed Goni) will come to his workshop and collect the money.
Mohammed Goni further stated that after he collected the money at the workshop, he was immediately arrested by local hunters and was later handed over to the Nigerian Army who brought him to CID, Yola.
But upon arraignment before the Honourable Court earlier, the suspect and now the convict denied all the 3 count charges.
Delivering its judgement on the matter on Thursday, the court presided over by Honourable Justice Abdul-Azeez Waziri, convicted and sentenced him to 27 years imprisonment without any option of fine.
Justice Waziri declared that the prosecution has discharged the burden of proof beyond reasonable doubt against the defendant, and sentenced him to 7years on count 1 and 20 years on count 2 and 3 respectively, and that the sentences are to run concurrently.
He held that the confessional statement of the defendant is really the best evidence or the strongest against the defendant in the determination of his guilt, adding that the statement is direct and positive as it gives vivid account of what actually happened.
In their separate reactions on the judgement, Counsel to the Prosecution, Mohammed Iliyasu and that of the Convict, Mohammed Abubakar appreciated the court.
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