By Emmanuel Ogebe, Esq.
Mr. Sunday Jackson, a farmer from Adamawa State, has been sentenced to death by hanging for killing a Fulani herdsman in what many are calling an act of self-defense gone tragically awry.
The Supreme Court has upheld the lower court, Adamawa High Court, Yola’s ruling, cementing Jackson’s fate and igniting a passionate plea for clemency from supporters who view the sentence as a grave injustice.
The incident occurred in 2014 when Mr. Jackson, working on his farm, was attacked by a Fulani herdsman wielding a knife.
According to trial details, Mr. Jackson sustained injuries to his legs during the assault.
In a desperate struggle, Jackson managed to overpower his assailant, seizing the knife and stabbing the herdsman, who later succumbed to his injuries.
However, in a gross travesty of justice, Jackson was sentenced to death in 2021 after being in prison for seven years.
The prosecution acknowledged during the trial that the knife belonged to the attacker, a fact that has fueled arguments that Jackson acted to protect his own life.
But, the trial court led by Justice Fatima Ahmed Tafida ruled that Jackson should have fled the scene after disarming his attacker rather than using the weapon against him.
Despite the clear context of self-defense, the court convicted Jackson of murder, sentencing him to death by hanging.
Regrettably, the Supreme Court has now upheld Jackson’s death sentence ten years after.
This is despite a constitutional infraction notable in the judgement of the High Court of Yola that was appealed.
The statement of facts of the Appellant’s brief of argument was that “the defendant testified
for himself on the 27th day of February, 2020 and the matter was adjourned to the 27th day of August 2020 for the adoption of final written addresses of counsel to the prosecution and the defence. Judgment was delivered on the 10th day of February, 2021.”
Reacting, a Rights Lawyer, Emmanuel Ogebe, Esq., argued that, “an ordinary calculation of the time between the adoption of final addresses of counsel on August 27, 2020 and the delivery of judgment on February 10, 2021 amounts to in excess of 167 days.
“The 1999 constitution was amended to afford expeditious dispensation of justice to litigants by the prescription of 90 days within which a judgment must be delivered from close of final addresses.
“Judgments so rendered out of time are void or as the Administration of Criminal Justice Act provides are voidable if miscarriage of justice was occasioned thereby.
“The facts of this case are a textbook case of miscarriage of justice:
“In the first place, Mr Sunday Jackson was held awaiting trial for capital punishment for several years – a trial that essentially comprised of no more than five sittings. Instead of a five-day trial, he spent six years in custody in a non-controversial trial in which he did not deny that the death of the deceased occurred as a result of an altercation.
“Having spent all this time, Mr Jackson was further subjected to 167 days of agonizing wait for judgment as to whether he should be freed or hanged in violation of constitutional protections against such protracted delays.
“Moreover, Appellant’s brief raised the issue that the trial judge substituted her personal opinion for facts in the case. In other words she assumed facts not in evidence or created her own ”facts” not tendered in evidence by parties.
“This clearly proves that due to the prolonged period of time from close of arguments to the rendering of judgment – a whooping 167 days almost double the constitutional 90 days – the judge had confused the facts of the case resulting in a horrendous miscarriage of justice and as such it must be voided.
“From Appellant’s brief of argument, it is patently clear that his constitutional right and protection of self-defense was unjustly and injudiciously denied him by the trial judge.
“This is a classic case that should have ended with the Director of Public Prosecution’s advice and should never have seen a court of law much less murder charge. Self-defence is the most plaintive of rights known to virtually all jurisprudence and jurisdictions universally.
“Mr Jackson has thus been failed by the DPP’s office, failed by the Attorney General, failed by Justice Fatima Ahmed Tafida and failed by the Legal Aid Council and Nigeria’s justice system. At worst a charge of manslaughter should have been filed if at all.
“The trial judge misinterpreted the constitution to mean appellant had the option of flight and not fight when clearly the constitution empowers a citizen to stand his ground and not flee.
“Indeed the trial judge contorted and distorted logic on its head by saying plaintiff should have run away while having admitted into evidence that he was stabbed in the leg and thus momentarily handicapped.
“This internal inconsistency in the trial court’s reason and fact-finding lends further credence to the fact that the extensive effluxion of time from the constitutionally mandated 90 days to judgment delivery to 167 days prejudiced the Appellant and resulted in a grievous miscarriage of justice.
“This is a sad day for Nigerians as their ability to protect themselves from violent attackers has been further diminished.”
Meanwhile, the Supreme Court’s decision to uphold the lower court’s verdict on Mr. Jackson has left many questioning the application of justice in this case, with critics arguing that the ruling fails to account for the immediacy of the threat Jackson faced.
“This is clearly a case of persecution,” said a Rights activist. “Sunday Jackson was defending his life against an armed attacker. To sentence him to death for that is a miscarriage of justice that demands urgent attention.”
Supporters of Jackson have launched an impassioned campaign, urging believers and human rights advocates to “raise a cry to Heaven” for clemency. They are calling on Governor Ahmadu Fintiri of Adamawa State, who holds the power to grant a pardon, to intervene and spare Jackson’s life. The governor has yet to respond to the growing chorus of voices demanding mercy.
The case has reignited broader conversations about self-defense laws in Nigeria, particularly in rural areas where clashes between farmers and herdsmen have become increasingly common.
For many, Jackson’s story is a stark reminder of the fine line between survival and prosecution in a system that some argue disproportionately punishes the vulnerable.
As the clock ticks for Sunday Jackson, his fate now rests in the hands of Governor Fintiri and the collective will of those rallying for his deliverance. Whether this cry for justice will be heard remains uncertain, but the call for compassion grows louder by the day.
With additional reports by Ogochukwu Isioma
