The Supreme Court has mandated a retrial for Yahaya Ibrahim, a man previously convicted and sentenced to death for culpable homicide by a Kano State High Court.
In a unanimous decision delivered by Justice Tijjani Abubakar, a five-member panel of justices dismissed Yahaya’s appeal, affirming the Court of Appeal’s directive for a fresh trial.
Yahaya Ibrahim, along with eight co-accused, was charged with conspiracy, culpable homicide punishable by death, and causing hurt, stemming from an incident on November 3, 2011, in Garin Babba Village, Kano State.
The prosecution alleged that the accused caused the death of Alhaji Sabo Jae by attacking him with sticks and swords while he slept, and also inflicted severe injuries on Idris Muhammad Jae. Following a trial where four prosecution witnesses and 12 defence witnesses testified, Yahaya and his co-accused were convicted and sentenced to death on June 30, 2014.
Dissatisfied with the trial court’s judgment, Yahaya appealed to the Court of Appeal in Kaduna, which on March 26, 2019, allowed his appeal and ordered a retrial before a different judge.
The Appeal Court found that Yahaya’s plea was not properly taken on an amended charge, thus rendering the initial trial procedurally flawed.
Yahaya’s lawyer, Emmanuel Ekpenyong, subsequently appealed to the Supreme Court, arguing for his client’s discharge rather than a retrial. Ekpenyong contended that the Appeal Court did not sufficiently consider the circumstances that would warrant a fresh trial, especially given his client’s prolonged detention since 2011.
He argued that ordering a retrial after such a long period would inflict “untold hardship” on Yahaya and went against the “interest of justice.”
However, the Supreme Court upheld the Appeal Court’s decision, stating that the lower appellate court was correct in ordering a fresh trial to allow the appellant to properly enter his plea on the amended charge.
The apex court reiterated that when a trial is declared a nullity due to procedural errors, an appellate court can either discharge the appellant or order a fresh trial. Given the procedural misstep regarding the plea, the Supreme Court found the order for retrial to be appropriate.
