Niger court sentences man to death by hanging for setting mother ablaze

 

Chief Judge of Niger State, Justice Halima Abdulmalik, has delivered a verdict sentencing Stephen Jiya to death by hanging for the horrific act of setting his mother, Comfort Jiya, on fire.

The judgment found Stephen guilty of culpable homicide under Section 221 of the Penal Code Law, carrying the death penalty.

He was prosecuted by the Office of the Attorney General of the Niger State Ministry of Justice for the tragic murder of his mother, who was a retired director in the State Ministry of Education, in December 2021.

He was first arraigned in September 2022 and the trial started on November 23, 2022.

In her ruling, the judge said the prosecution has proved its case beyond every reasonable doubt.

In January 2022, Stephen killed his mother and subsequently confessed to the police that he murdered her after he suspected she was behind his wife’s disappearance from their Suleja home.