Kogi Court Sentences Man to Death for Kidnapping and Murdering Neighbour

A High Court in Kogi State has imposed the death penalty on a man prosecuted for kidnapping and murdering his neighbour, a hotel proprietor in Obajana, even after his family paid the N2.5 million ransom demanded by his abductors.

The Kogi Court, presided by Justice Abdul Nicodemus Awulu, on Tuesday found Jibrin Halilu guilty on charges of conspiracy and kidnapping, in contravention of Sections 12, 6 (1), and 4 (3)(a) of the Kogi State Kidnapping and Other Related Offences Prohibition Law, 2023.

According to the prosecution, on March 23, 2023, Halilu and other members of his armed gang stormed Everready Hotel, Angwa-Tiv, in Obajana town, abducting the proprietor, Uche Andrew Offo.

Even though Offo’s family paid the N2.5 million ransom demanded, the kidnappers killed him anyway.

Operatives of the DSS arrested Halilu on December 4, 2025.

The convictions follow a June 3, 2026, verdict by a Federal High Court in Abuja sentencing four men to death for their roles in the June 5, 2022, terrorist attack on St. Francis Catholic Church in Owo, Ondo State — an attack that killed over 40 worshippers and left more than 100 persons injured.

Sources: Daily Trust