Plateau Court Sentences Two to Death for Murder

A Plateau State High Court has sentenced two individuals, Thomas Danboyi and Pam Lang, to death by hanging for their roles in the killing of Chung Bot.

Delivering the judgment at the High Court in Jos on Wednesday, Plateau State Chief Judge, Justice David Gwong Mann, found the defendants guilty of criminal conspiracy and culpable homicide in the case State vs. Thomas Danboyi & Pam Lang (Charge No. PLD/J112C/2010).

Mann stated that the offences were punishable under the Penal Code Law of Northern Nigeria, 1963, which was applicable in Plateau State at the time of the crime.

The prosecution team, led by Plateau State Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, P.A. Daffi, told the court that the incident occurred on April 26, 2010, at Tahai Gyel Bukuru in Jos South Local Government Area.

According to the prosecution, the victim, Chung Bot, and his family were attacked by the accused persons and others now at large while working on their farmland in Ta Hei, Gyel.

Evidence presented in court revealed that Thomas Danboyi restrained the victim by holding his hands behind his back, while Pam Lang repeatedly struck him on the head with a stick. Bot was rushed to Plateau Hospital, Jos, where he later died from his injuries.

Justice Mann ruled that the prosecution had proven its case beyond a reasonable doubt, describing the evidence as “overwhelming.”

He stated that witness testimonies and exhibits established that the defendants conspired to commit the crime and intentionally caused the victim’s death.

Following the conviction, the defendants’ counsel pleaded for leniency, citing their good conduct and responsibilities as family men.

While the judge exercised discretion in sentencing the convicts to three years imprisonment for criminal conspiracy, he handed down the mandatory death penalty for culpable homicide.