A High Court sitting in Jos, Plateau State, has sentenced two men, Thomas Danboyi and Pam Lang, to death by hanging for their involvement in the killing of one Chung Bot.
According to The PUNCH, the verdict was delivered on Wednesday by the Chief Judge of Plateau State, Justice David Gwong Mann, who found the defendants guilty of criminal conspiracy and culpable homicide in the case marked State vs. Thomas Danboyi & Pam Lang (Charge No. PLD/J112C/2010).
According to the prosecution, led by the Plateau State Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, P.A. Daffi, the incident occurred on April 26, 2010, in Tahai Gyel Bukuru, Jos South Local Government Area.
The court heard that the victim and his family were on their farm when they were attacked by the convicts and others who are still at large.
Evidence presented in court revealed that Danboyi restrained the victim while Lang repeatedly struck him on the head with a stick. Bot was later taken to Plateau Hospital in Jos, where he died from his injuries.
Justice Mann, in his ruling, stated that the prosecution had provided overwhelming evidence proving the defendants’ guilt beyond reasonable doubt.
While he exercised discretion in sentencing them to three years in prison for criminal conspiracy, he imposed the mandatory death penalty for culpable homicide.
Following the verdict, defense counsel pleaded for leniency, arguing that the convicts were responsible family men. However, the judge noted that he had no legal discretion to reduce the sentence for homicide.
The case has attracted public interest due to the prolonged legal proceedings since the crime was committed in 2010.
