An Islamic appeal court in the northern Nigerian state of Jigawa on Tuesday overturned a sentence of death by stoning passed on a convicted rapist and ordered him sent instead to a home for the mentally ill. Sarimu Mohammed Baranda, 54, was convicted of raping a nine-year-old girl by a lower Shari'ah court in May last year. But his family launched a last-minute legal challenge just before the mandatory appeal period lapsed, pleading he was mentally ill.
| "I mean, he thought she was at least twelve..." |
Baranda subsequently told the appeal court the confession that was the basis of his conviction was obtained under torture by the police. He also said he was not aware at the time death was the punishment for the offence for which he was charged. The four-member appeal panel sitting in Dutse, the Jigawa State capital, accepted his appeal. "Having reviewed all the arguments in this case, we have suspended the guilty verdict earlier passed by the lower court," said presiding judge Isa Inua Ali, as he read the unanimous judgment of the court. Baranda was to be committed to the mental institution, 80 kilometres north of Dutse until such a time the state governor ordered his release, the judgment said.
| Can't go bumping off good Muslim men just for a little peccadillo like doinking a 9-year-old. What would the Prophet say? |
Defence counsel, Mohammed Gausu, told reporters outside the court he was pleased with the judgment. But the state prosecutor, Muktari Abdullahi, said he would await instructions from the state government if to challenge the ruling in the federal appeal court — the next appeal stage.
| "I'd really prefer to see the rocks fly. We don't have nearly enough blood on the ground around here." |
Baranda said he was pleased to be free from the death sentence, but said he would prefer to be sent home where he could still receive treatment for his mental illness instead of a psychiatric hospital.
"What kind of treatment?"
"I think long massages by children, in the comfort of my own bedroom, would help me a lot! They have such a calming effect..." |
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