24-year-old man bags death sentence for killing stepmother

A Plateau High Court sitting in Jos on Thursday sentenced 24-year-old man, Binfa Lamde, to death-by-hanging for hacking his stepmother to death.

Justice A.I. Ashoms handed down the sentence as he found Lamde guilty of killing his stepmother, Mrs. Kum Zwade.

Delivering judgment, Ashoms ruled that going by the findings of the court, Lamde mercilessly took the life of the deceased, Kum Zwade, in cold blood.

“This sentence is mandatory, as the law states that any person convicted of murder shall be punished with death by hanging.

“The sentence of this court upon you is that you, Binfa Lamde, will be hanged until you are dead. May God have mercy on your soul,’’ Ashoms said.

The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the convict was first arraigned on July 14, 2014, charged with culpable homicide, contrary to Section 221 of the Penal Code, punishable with death upon conviction.

The convict committed the crime on April 10, 2014, when he used a machete to hack his stepmother to death.

Lamde, of Ngwak Village, Langtang North, in his confessional statement to the Police admitted to the crime, claiming that the deceased was a witch.

He said: “I was at home on the said date when I heard my step-sister, one Chakwai Zuwade, screaming in her room.

“I ran to her room and she told me she was not feeling fine and needed me to take her to the hospital. We took her to the hospital with my brother, but after many tests, nothing was found.

“We later took her to a herbalist, but her condition kept getting worse. My stepmother now confessed to us that she was the one that tied her own daughter through witchcraft.

“We asked her to untie her, but she refused. My son was also sick at that point and I felt she was the one that tied him too. My step-sister later died and I got very angry.

“I went into her room while she was sleeping and used a machete to stab her all over her head, she died instantly.”

Counsel to the accused, Mr. David Adudu, did not contest the judgment, saying he was okay with the judgment of the court.

He, however, said he will get a copy of the judgment, study it and look for possible grounds of appeal and do so against the death sentence imposed on the convict.