By Correspondent in Lokoja.
The Supreme Court has upheld the judgment of the Court of Appeal ordering the retrial of Yahaya Ibrahim, a man convicted and sentenced to death by a Kano State High Court for alleged culpable homicide.
In a unanimous decision delivered by Justice Tijjani Abubakar, the five-member panel dismissed Yahaya’s appeal for lacking merit.
The apex court agreed with the Appeal Court’s ruling that the appellant was not properly arraigned on an amended charge, thus rendering the initial trial a nullity.
“The Court of Appeal was right in ordering that the appellant be retried to enable him enter a proper plea,” the Supreme Court held.
“The judgment of the lower court delivered on the 26th day of March, 2019, in appeal No CA/K/147E/C/2015 is affirmed.
“Appellant is hereby ordered to march to the trial court to face his retrial,” the judge said.
is hereby ordered to march to the trial court to face his retrial,” the judge said.
Ibrahim through his counsel Emmanuel Ekpenyong of Fred-Young & Evans LP, had appealed the retrial order. He sought a discharge on the grounds that a fresh trial would amount to a miscarriage of justice, especially after being in detention since 2011 and considering the passage of time.
Yahaya and eight others were initially charged before the Kano State High Court on three counts: conspiracy, culpable homicide punishable by death, and causing grievous hurt,offences said to contravene Sections 221(b) and 241 of the Penal Code (Cap 105), Laws of Kano State.
According to court records, the accused were alleged to have, on November 3, 2011, at about 10:30 p.m. in Garin Babba Village, Garin Mallam Local Government Area, attacked and killed one Alhaji Sabo Jae with sticks and swords while he slept.
They were also accused of severely assaulting one Idris Muhammad Jae during the same incident.
The prosecution presented four witnesses and tendered ten exhibits. Yahaya’s defence team called 12 witnesses.
On June 30, 2014, the trial judge convicted all the accused and sentenced them to death under Section 221, alongside a one-month sentence for causing hurt.
Yahaya appealed to the Court of Appeal, Kaduna Division, which in March 2019 declared the trial a nullity due to improper arraignment and ordered a retrial before a different judge. Dissatisfied, Yahaya took the case to the Supreme Court.
In his brief, Ekpenyong argued that the Appeal Court failed to consider key factors before ordering a retrial, citing prior Supreme Court decisions in Hassan v. FRN (2007) and Yahaya v. State (2000). He maintained that retrying Yahaya after such prolonged detention violated his constitutional rights and amounted to further injustice.
He noted that the exhibit room where evidence was kept had since been destroyed by insurgents, leaving no admissible material evidence for a fresh trial. He also questioned the credibility of Yahaya’s confessional statement, alleging it was obtained under duress and should be deemed inadmissible.
However, Kano State’s counsel, Haruna Mohammed, urged the court to dismiss the appeal, asserting that the retrial was within the discretionary powers of the appellate court, especially where a prior trial was found to violate procedural laws.
He pointed out that even Yahaya’s counsel acknowledged the flawed arraignment process.
Justice Abubakar, delivering judgment on May 23 (certified true copy released Monday), emphasized that the appellant’s original arraignment failed to meet legal requirements.
Edited by Dada Ahmed.
