The State Security Service has secured another major conviction in its prosecution of kidnapping and terrorism-related offences after the Adamawa State High Court sentenced three men to death over the kidnapping of two Catholic priests in February 2025.
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Delivering judgment on Thursday, Justice Christopher Mapeo found Taledo Demiel, Namomai Medan and Mikaila Yusuf guilty of offences including criminal conspiracy to commit kidnapping, kidnapping, conspiracy to commit armed robbery, armed robbery, harbouring a kidnapped person and negotiating to receive ransom for the release of Reverend Fathers Matthew Dutsemi and Abraham Sauman.
The court consequently sentenced the three men to death for kidnapping, armed robbery and other related offences.
The judgment marks the seventh case this year in which the SSS has secured death sentences against persons prosecuted for kidnapping, terrorism, murder and related violent crimes.
The series of convictions began on May 20, 2026, when an Ekiti State High Court sentenced Ibrahim Abubakar and Abdullahi Abubakar to death by hanging for kidnapping.
About two weeks later, on June 3, 2026, the Federal High Court in Abuja sentenced four men to death by hanging over the June 2022 attack on St. Francis Catholic Church, Owo, Ondo State, in which scores of worshippers were killed.
Those convicted in the Owo church attack were Idris Abdulmalik Omeiza, Alqasim Idris, Jamiu Abdulmalik and Abdulkareem Idris.
On June 15, 2026, a Katsina State High Court sentenced Hauwa’u Mukhtar, described as an arms courier, to death by hanging.
The following day, June 16, a Kogi State High Court sentenced Jibrin Halilu to death by hanging for the kidnapping and murder of his neighbour in Obajana.
Another set of convictions followed on June 22, when a Sokoto State High Court sentenced Muhammed Yusuf Sallau, Jabbi Ahlaji Yale and Kabiru Muhammed to death by hanging for terrorism and transporting arms.
Less than three months later, on September 28, 2026, another Sokoto State High Court sentenced Ibrahim Usman, also known as Dan Iyali, to death by hanging over his involvement in the killing of three kidnapped persons.
The latest Adamawa judgment adds to the growing number of capital sentences secured in cases involving kidnapping, terrorism, armed robbery and other violent crimes investigated and prosecuted with the involvement of the SSS.
Justice Mapeo’s judgment centred on the abduction of the two Catholic priests and the roles attributed to the three defendants in the kidnapping, armed robbery, harbouring of a kidnapped victim and negotiations for ransom.
With their conviction, Demiel, Medan and Yusuf join a growing list of persons sentenced to death this year in cases linked to violent crime and terrorism.
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