Gombe court sentences man to death for murder of his ex-wife

Thursday, March, 12 2026 - A High Court sitting in Gombe on Wednesday sentenced a 25-year-old man, Hassan Mohammed of Falangaya village in Dukku Local Government Area, to death by hanging for killing his former wife, Halimatu Sadiya-Adamu.

The judgment was delivered by Justice Abdulhamid Mohammed-Yakubu of High Court No. 2 in Gombe.

The prosecution told the court that the incident occurred on March 25, 2025, at about 1 p.m., when the defendant allegedly attacked his former wife with a knife after she refused his request to remarry him.

According to the prosecution, Hassan slit the victim’s throat during the attack, leading to her death.

The Director of Public Prosecution in the state, Abubakar Kungudo, who led the prosecution, said the offence contravened Section 221 of the Penal Code Law.

Kungudo informed the court that six witnesses testified during the trial, providing accounts of what they observed at the scene of the incident.

“The offence committed by the defendant is contrary to Section 221 of the Penal Code Law. The prosecution presented six witnesses who testified before the court on what they saw at the scene of the incident,” he said.

He added that the knife allegedly used in the attack was also tendered before the court as an exhibit.

The defendant, however, pleaded not guilty when the charge was read to him.

During the trial, defence counsel Habib Alkali cross-examined the prosecution’s six witnesses before presenting the defendant as the sole defence witness.

Hassan Mohammed denied committing the offence during his testimony but was subsequently cross-examined by the prosecution.

In his judgment, Justice Mohammed-Yakubu held that the prosecution had proven its case beyond a reasonable doubt.

“Having carefully considered the testimonies of the witnesses, the exhibits presented before the court, as well as the confessional statement of the defendant and the police investigation, the court finds the accused person guilty of culpable homicide,” the judge ruled.

Justice Mohammed-Yakubu consequently convicted Hassan Mohammed for culpable homicide punishable under Section 221 of the Penal Code Law.

“The sentence of this court upon you, Hassan Mohammed, is death by hanging as provided in section 221 of the penal code law’ the judge declared.

The court held that the evidence before it established that the defender killed his former wife after she rejected his request to re-marry him