Court sentences man to death for kidnapping and murder in Kogi.

A High Court in Kogi State has sentenced a man to death after the Department of State Services (DSS) prosecuted him for kidnapping and murdering his neighbour.

This decision followed just 24 hours after a High Court in Katsina State sentenced a female arms courier, arrested by the DSS, to death.

The court, presided over by Justice Abdul Nicodemus Awulu, found Jibrin Halilu guilty of conspiracy and kidnapping, violating Sections 12, 6(1), and 4(3)(a) of the Kogi State Kidnapping and Other Related Offences Prohibition Law, 2023. Halilu was subsequently sentenced to death.

According to the prosecution, on 23 March 2023 Halilu and members of his armed gang stormed Everready Hotel in Angwa‑Tiv, Obajana town, abducting the proprietor, Uche Andrew Offo. Although Offo’s family paid the kidnappers a ransom of N2.5 million, the abductors killed him.

The DSS prosecutor informed the court that DSS operatives arrested Halilu on 4 December 2025.

The court also sentenced four individuals—Idris Abdulmalik Omeiza, Al Qasim Idris, Jamiu Abdulmalik, and Abdulhaleem Idris—to death by hanging for an attack that killed more than 40 worshippers and injured over 100 people.

These convictions in Kogi and Katsina come after a landmark verdict on 3 June 2026 by a Federal High Court in Abuja, which sentenced four men to death for their roles in the 5 June 2022 terrorist attack on St. Francis Catholic Church in Owo, Ondo State.