Adamawa High Court Sentences Three to Death Over Abduction of Catholic Priests

An Adamawa State High Court has sentenced three men to death following their conviction for the armed robbery and kidnapping of two Catholic priests, Channels Television reported on Thursday.

Presiding judge Justice Christopher Mapeo handed down the ruling against Taledo Demiel, Namomai Medan, and Mikaila Yusuf. The court found all three guilty of multiple charges related to the abduction of Reverend Father Matthew Dutsemi and Reverend Father Abraham Sauman in February 2025.

Details of the Conviction

According to the broadcaster, the men faced a series of serious criminal charges connected to the incident. Justice Mapeo convicted the defendants of criminal conspiracy to commit kidnapping, substantive kidnapping, conspiracy to commit armed robbery, and armed robbery.

The court also determined that the trio was guilty of harbouring a kidnapped individual and negotiating to collect ransom payments in exchange for the release of the two clergymen. Following the guilty verdicts across the counts, the court issued the death penalty for the kidnapping and armed robbery offences.

Pattern of Capital Sentences in DSS Prosecutions

Channels Television noted that this verdict represents the seventh capital conviction secured by Nigeria’s Department of State Services (DSS) over the course of the year. The domestic intelligence agency has handled a series of high-profile security cases across several jurisdictions.

The report highlighted several preceding death sentences handed down across state and federal courts in 2026:

• Ekiti State (May 20): Ibrahim Abubakar and Abdullahi Abubakar were condemned to death by hanging on kidnapping charges.
• Federal High Court, Abuja (June 3): Four individuals—Idris Abdulmalik Omeiza, Alqasim Idris, Jamiu Abdulmalik, and Abdulkareem Idris—were sentenced to death by hanging for their roles in the June 2022 church massacre in Owo, Ondo State.
• Katsina State (June 15): A state high court imposed a death sentence on Hauwa’u Mukhtar, who was convicted of acting as an arms courier.
• Kogi State (June 16): Jibrin Halilu was sentenced to death by hanging for kidnapping and killing his neighbour in Obajana.
• Sokoto State (June 22): Muhammed Yusuf Sallau, Jabbi Ahlaji Yale, and Kabiru Muhammed were sentenced to hang for terrorism and firearms transit.
• Sokoto State (September 28): Ibrahim Usman, known as Dan Iyali, received a death sentence for his role in the deaths of three abducted victims.

The Adamawa verdict concludes the trial phase for the February 2025 clergy abduction, though the report did not indicate whether the convicts plan to appeal the ruling.

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p class=”vbna-source-note”>Source: Channels Television

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