After 9-Years Of Killing His Boss, PHCN Security Guard Is Sentenced To Death

Nine years after, Stephen Haruna, a security guard with the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN)  (then NEPA) killed the person he was paid to protect, Miss. Sussana Igwe, an Assistant General Manager, Legal with the PHCN, the Supreme Court has confirmed the death sentenced passed on him for the gruesome murder.

Haruna, was attached to Igwe, but murdered her. In the course of investigation, Haruna admitted killing her boss and was consequently charged with murder before an Abuja High Court.

He was found guilty and sentenced to death. He however challenged the high court's judgment on appeal. The Court of Appeal affirmed the high court's decision and still dissatisfied, he appealed to the Supreme Court.

Justice Suleiman Galadima who wrote the lead judgment with which four other justices concurred said that there was overwhelming evidence to uphold the conviction of Haruna.
He said: "In the face of overwhelming evidence against the Appellant, I cannot upturn the concurrent findings of the trial court and the court below (the Court of Appeal) when the Appellant has failed to demonstrate that the said concurrent findings were perverse and could not be supported having regard to the evidence adduced by the Prosecutor."

The judge also stated that Haruna's girlfriend, one Mary Jimoh also testified to the fact that the money he (Haruna) stole from Igwe was deposited with her.

Although, the convict made three confessional statements to the police in the course of the investigation, he later retracted one of the statements.

Justice Galadima held that even if the third statement was discountenanced, Haruna could still be and was rightly convicted.
According to him the Appellant's confessional statement was corroborated by the discovery of stolen money he took to his girlfriend at Kubwa, suburb of Abuja city to keep for him.

The judge held: "It was on the strength of the confessional statement that the police went to Kubwa where the money was discovered. Also the testimonies of the driver, the PHCN's Senior Security Officers and the forensic reports corroborated the Appellant's confessional statement."

ThisDay