Dismissed Soldier Sentenced To Death By Hanging For Murdering Girlfriend Over SMS

eniola Olayemi

Plateau State High Court sitting in Barkin Ladi, on Wednesday, sentenced a 34-year-old dismissed solider, Sunday Umaru, to death by hanging for hacking his lover to death over a message he found on her mobile telephone.

Justice S. P. Gang passed the sentence after finding Umaru guilty of killing his girlfriend, Charity Thomas, on January 23, 2016.

Gang stated that Umaru “mercilessly took the life of Charity Thomas in cold blood” and had to face the full weight of the law.

The judge ruled, “This sentence is mandatory; 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, Sunday Umaru, will be hanged by the neck until you are dead. May God have mercy on your soul.”

The News Agency of Nigeria recalls that Umaru, an ex-military man, was dragged before the court on July 14, 2016, for allegedly killing his lover.

Umaru, a married man, was a Private in the Nigerian Army and was serving with the Special Task Force, Sector 7, Barkin Ladi, at the time of the incident.

At his arraignment, Umaru faced a count of culpable homicide.

He was accused of killing his lover, Charity, who visited him from Kaduna, by stabbing her with a knife in the stomach, slaughtering her thereafter, and dumping the body by the roadside.

According to the prosecutor, Emmanuel Awe, the convict committed the crime on January 23, 2016, in the Barkin Ladi Local Government Area of Plateau State.

The prosecutor said a team of military men mobilised and went after the accused and arrested him at his home in the barracks, while in the company of his family.

He added that during investigation, the police discovered several gory pictures and videos of the deceased that the accused took with his phone immediately after the murder.

NAN also reported that the Nigerian Army quickly tried the accused and dismissed him after finding him guilty of killing his lover.

Counsel for the convict, Mr David Adudu, told NAN after the judgment that he was not satisfied with the death sentence passed by the court.