A High Court in Kogi State has sentenced a convicted kidnapper to death for his role in the abduction and murder of a hotel owner, despite the victim’s family paying a ₦2.5 million ransom.
Justice Abdul Nicodemus Awulu delivered the judgment on Tuesday, finding Jibrin Halilu guilty of conspiracy and kidnapping under the Kogi State Kidnapping and Other Related Offences Prohibition Law, 2023. The prosecution was handled by the Department of State Services (DSS).
Court records showed that the crime occurred on March 23, 2023, when Halilu and members of his armed gang reportedly invaded Everready Hotel in Angwa-Tiv, Obajana, and abducted the proprietor, Uche Andrew Offo.
According to the prosecution, the kidnappers demanded ₦2.5 million from Offo’s family as ransom. Although the family paid the requested amount, the victim was allegedly killed by his captors.
The DSS informed the court that its operatives later tracked down and arrested Halilu on December 4, 2025, following investigations into the case.
After reviewing the evidence presented, the court convicted Halilu on the charges brought against him and imposed the death penalty.
The judgment comes amid a series of high-profile terrorism and kidnapping convictions across Nigeria. Barely a day earlier, a High Court in Katsina State sentenced a woman convicted of acting as an arms courier to death in a case prosecuted by the DSS.
Similarly, a Federal High Court in Abuja on June 3, 2026, handed death sentences to four men convicted over their involvement in the June 5, 2022 terrorist attack on St. Francis Catholic Church in Owo, Ondo State.
In another related case, four defendants — Idris Abdulmalik Omeiza, Al Qasim Idris, Jamiu Abdulmalik and Abdulhaleem Idris — were sentenced to death by hanging for an attack that claimed the lives of more than 40 worshippers and left over 100 others injured.
The latest convictions underscore ongoing efforts by security agencies and the judiciary to tackle kidnapping, terrorism and other violent crimes through prosecution and enforcement of existing laws.
