The Supreme Court in Abuja has affirmed the conviction and death sentence imposed on a Kaduna-based man, Abu Umar, who stabbed another to death in a fight.
In a lead judgment delivered by Justice Jummai-Hannatu Sankey, who led a five-member justices, held that the appeal was lacking in merit.
The panel affirmed the July 22, 2020 decision of the Court of Appeal sitting in Kaduna, which upheld the death sentence handed down to Umar by the High Court of Justice, Kaduna state, on Dec. 14, 2017, about nine years after conviction.
The apex court agreed with the arguments of counsel to Kaduna state government, Emmanuel Ekpenyong of the law firm of Fred-Young & Evans LP.
In the judgment, which was unanimously concurred by other justices, Justice Sankey sustained Ekpenyong’s arguments.
She held that the prosecution, through the eye-witness’ accounts of the 2nd prosecution witness (PW2), a police officer; PW-3, the father of Abubakar, and Exhibit 1, the extra-judicial confessional statement of Umar, proved the three ingredients of the offence he was charged for.
The judge opined that “the appellant has raised a dust storm over the absence of a medical report to establish the death of the deceased.”
She however said the law is settled that where death was instant, or within a short time after, mostly within 24 hours after the incident leading to the death, the need for medical report becomes a choice.