A Plateau State High Court has sentenced Thomas Danboyi and Pam Lang to death by hanging for their involvement in the 2010 murder of Chung Bot in Tahai Gyel Bukuru, Jos South Local Government Area.
Delivering the verdict on Wednesday, Chief Judge David Gwong Mann ruled that the prosecution had proven beyond a reasonable doubt that the duo conspired to kill Bot.
“The evidence before this court is conclusive and leaves no room for doubt. The defendants are found guilty of criminal conspiracy and culpable homicide,” Justice Mann declared.
According to the prosecution, led by Plateau State Attorney General P.A. Daffi, the crime occurred on April 26, 2010, when the convicts, along with accomplices still at large, attacked Bot and his family while they worked on their farm. Witnesses testified that Danboyi restrained the victim while Lang repeatedly struck him on the head with a stick. Bot later succumbed to his injuries at Plateau Hospital.
Although the defense pleaded for leniency—citing the accused as responsible family men who had conducted themselves well during the trial—the court upheld the mandatory death sentence for culpable homicide. However, the judge reduced the penalty for conspiracy to three years in prison instead of the maximum punishment.
This ruling marks the conclusion of a legal battle spanning over a decade. The case has drawn widespread public attention, with many viewing the verdict as a strong stance against violent crime in the state.
The convicts retain the right to appeal, but unless overturned by a higher court, the sentence remains in effect.
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