DSS Secures Seventh Death Sentence in 2026 as Adamawa Court Jails Three Kidnappers
The High Court of Adamawa State has sentenced three men to death for kidnapping two Catholic priests in February 2025, bringing to seven the number of death sentences reportedly secured by the Department of State Services (DSS) in 2026.
The convicts, Taledo Demiel, Namomai Medan and Mikaila Yusuf, were found guilty of criminal conspiracy to commit kidnapping, conspiracy to commit armed robbery, armed robbery, harbouring kidnapped persons and negotiating to receive ransom for the release of Reverend Fathers Matthew Dutsemi and Abraham Sauman.
Justice Christopher Mapeo delivered the judgment on Thursday, sentencing the three men to death for their involvement in the offences.
The latest judgment adds to a series of death sentences handed down by Nigerian courts in 2026 for kidnapping, terrorism, armed robbery and other serious crimes.
On September 28, 2026, the Sokoto State High Court sentenced Ibrahim Usman, popularly known as Dan Iyali, to death by hanging over his involvement in the killing of three kidnapped persons in the state.
Earlier, on June 22, the Sokoto State High Court sentenced three men — Muhammed Yusuf Sallau, Jabbi Ahlaji Yale and Kabiru Muhammed — to death by hanging for terrorism-related offences and transporting arms.
On June 16, the Kogi State High Court sentenced Jibrin Halilu to death by hanging for kidnapping and murdering his neighbour in Obajana, an industrial town in the state.
A day earlier, on June 15, the Katsina State High Court sentenced Hauwa’u Mukhtar, a female arms courier, to death by hanging.
Similarly, on June 3, the Federal High Court in Abuja sentenced four men to death by hanging for their roles in the June 2022 attack on St. Francis Catholic Church, Owo, Ondo State, in which scores of worshippers were killed.
The convicts were identified as Idris Abdulmalik Omeiza, Alqasim Idris, Jamiu Abdulmalik and Abdulkareem Idris.
On May 20, the Ekiti State High Court also sentenced two men, Ibrahim Abubakar and Abdullahi Abubakar, to death by hanging for kidnapping.
The latest Adamawa judgment underscores the continuing prosecution of kidnapping and other violent crimes across the country, with courts handing down capital punishment in several high-profile cases this year.
