The Chief Judge of Niger State, Justice Halima Abdulmalik, has sentenced a man identified as Stephen Jiya to death by hanging for setting his mother, Comfort Jiya, ablaze.

The judge ruled that Stephen was guilty of culpable homicide, punishable under Section 221 of the Penal Code Law, which attracts the death penalty.

Stephen was arraigned by the Office of the Attorney General of the Niger State Ministry of Justice for the murder of his mother, a retired director in the State Ministry of Education, in December 2021.

He was first arraigned in September 2022 and the trial started on November 23, 2022.

In her ruling, the judge said the prosecution has proved its case beyond every reasonable doubt.

In January 2022, Stephen killed his mother and subsequently confessed to the police that he murdered her after he suspected she was behind his wife’s disappearance from their Suleja home.