A High Court sitting in Plateau State has sentenced Emmanuel Ude, a former student of Government Technical College, Bukuru, to death by hanging for the murder of his teacher, Mr. Job Dashe, in 2021.

The judgment, delivered by Justice Silas Bakfur on Monday, followed a protracted trial in which Ude was found guilty of culpable homicide, an offence under Sections 221 and 222 of the Plateau State Penal Code that carries the death penalty.

The incident occurred in July 2021, while Ude was still a student at the technical school located in Jos South Local Government Area.

According to court proceedings, during a routine inspection in the school’s dining hall, Mr. Dashe, on duty as the Duty Master asked Ude to open his food flask, suspecting he had violated school food regulations. Ude refused and left the hall.

Shortly after, he returned from the dormitory with a knife and stabbed the teacher in the chest before fleeing the scene. Mr. Dashe was rushed to a nearby hospital along Vom Road, where he was later pronounced dead.

Ude was arrested by the police days later. Investigators from the State Criminal Investigation Department (CID) said he confessed to the crime, and his statement became a key piece of evidence during the trial.

Prosecutors Nansil Mbah and Solomon Deme of the Plateau State Ministry of Justice argued that the attack was deliberate and premeditated. They presented their case for nearly four years before the court.

Ude’s lawyer, Josil Drinkat, pleaded for leniency, citing his client’s remorse. However, Justice Bakfur said the law must take its course.

“The prosecution has proved its case beyond reasonable doubt. The hands of the court are tied; I can only do what the law prescribes in such a situation,” the judge ruled.

Ude was consequently sentenced to death by hanging, to be carried out until he is certified dead.