Kogi court sentences man to d3ath for kidnap and m8rder of his neighbour

A High Court in Kogi State has sentenced a man to d3ath for kidnapping and m8rdering his neighbour, who ran a hotel in Obajana.

The Kogi court, presided over by Justice Abdul Nicodemus Awulu, on Tuesday, June 16, 2026 found Jibrin Halilu guilty on the 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. 

The court subsequently sentenced Halilu to d3ath.

Halilu was arrested by the Department of State Services (DSS). 

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

Even though Offo’s family handed his abductors the N2.5 million ransom they demanded, they, nonetheless, k!lled him. 

The DSS prosecutor told the court that operatives of the Service arrested Halilu on December 4, 2025.

“DSS investigations revealed that, while with his abductors, Offo was able to identify Halilu, who happened to be his neighbour, as being part of those who kidnapped him. That was when Halilu, despite the N2.5 million ransom he collected from Offo’s family, still k!lled him,” a security source revealed. 

“Further investigations by the DSS also linked Halilu and his gang to the April 2, 2023 kidnapping of one Ibrahim Abdullahi, a resident of Oshokoshoko Community in Lokoja, from whom the gang collected a N5 million ransom.”