CAN firmly believes that the ruling contradicts the provisions of the Adamawa State penal code, specifically sections 23 and 24.
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The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) firmly believes that the ruling contradicts the provisions of the Adamawa State penal code, specifically sections 23 and 24.
CAN, representing the 19 Northern states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja has strongly criticized the Supreme Court’s Judgement which sentenced Sunday Jackson a farmer from Adamawa State to death by hanging for an act of self-defense.
According to CAN the Judgement goes against the Adamawa Section 23 and 24 which outline specific legal provisions relevant to the case.
“Nothing is an offence which is done in the lawful exercise of the right of private defense.”
Sunday was arraigned on November 21, 2018, on a single charge of causing the death of Ardo Bawuro by stabbing him three times in the neck with a knife.
In a statement, Rev. John Joseph Hayab and Bishop Mohammed Naga, Chairman Secretary General of Northern CAN, expressed concerns:
“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 the prosecution and defense counsels. Judgment was delivered on the 10th day of February 2021.
“A calculation of the time between the adoption of final addresses of counsels on August 27, 2020, and the delivery of judgment on February 10, 2021, amounts to in excess of 167 days.”
Calculating the time between the submission of the final addresses on August 27, 2020 and the judgement delivered on February 10, 2021, shows a delay of over 167 days.
The statement further explained that the 1999 constitution had been amended to ensure the swift administration of justice. It mandates that judgments must be delivered within 90 days from the conclusion of final addresses . Section 294(5) states that any judgement issued beyond this 90-day limit, as per subsection 1 of section 294, is considered null and void, leading to what CAN describes as a miscarriage of justice.
According to the statement: “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 a capital offence for several years – a trial that essentially consisted of no more than five sittings. Instead of a five-day trial, he spent over 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 via self-defence.
“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.”
The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) expressed deep regret that, despite the clear provisions of section 23 of the Adamawa State penal code, the trial judge proceeded with sentencing Sunday Jackson to death by hanging. CAN lamented that both the Appeal and Supreme Courts upheld what they described as “this grave travesty of justice.”
According to the statement, the trial judge misinterpreted section 23 of the Adamawa state penal code by concluding that Sunday Jackson should have chosen to flee instead of defending himself when he was attacked and injured in the leg.
CAN argued that this reasoning was flawed as it suggested that the plaintiff should have run away despite evidence showing that he had been stabbed in the leg, leaving him temporarily incapacitated.
Given these circumstances, CAN called on the governor of Adamawa state, Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri to exercise his constitutional authority and grant clemency to Sunday Jackson. The appeal emphasized the need for “the prerogative of mercy” in the spirit of peace building and reconciliation which both the sate and nation urgently require.
The statement said: “Mr Sunday Jackson has truly been subjected to the excruciating pain of waiting for death in the midst of the shadow of death by the grave travesty of the misinterpretation of Section 23 of the Adamawa State Penal Code Laws and the unnecessarily prolonged trial that lasted six and a half years, which ordinarily should not have lasted such a lengthy period.”
CAN, therefor, appealed to Governor Fintiri to also consider the agonizing wait for judgment that Jackson was subjected to, believing that the governor will graciously accede to this humble plea.
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