FINAL-YEAR STUDENT SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR KILLING TEACHER OVER FOOD RATION DISPUTE

A Jos High Court has sentenced Odey Emmanuel, a final-year student at Government Science Technical College, Bukuru, to death by hanging for the murder of his teacher, Mr. Job Dashe, in a violent altercation over food rations.

The ruling, delivered by Hon. Justice S. J. Bakfur, found Emmanuel guilty of culpable homicide punishable by death under Sections 188 and 189 of Plateau State’s Penal Code (2017). The case, registered as PLD/J178C/2021, was prosecuted by the Plateau State Attorney-General’s office, which presented compelling evidence securing the conviction.  

The tragic incident occurred on July 30, 2022, within the school premises in Jos South LGA. Mr. Dashe, along with another teacher, was supervising meal distributions when he confronted Emmanuel for violating school rules by taking double rations. Witnesses testified that the student became enraged after being disciplined, openly threatening the teacher.  

According to five prosecution witnesses—including school staff, police officers, and medical personnel from Mercy Seat Hospital—Emmanuel declared, “I must hurt this teacher,” before pulling out a knife and stabbing Mr. Dashe in the chest. Despite immediate efforts to save him, the teacher was pronounced dead on arrival at the hospital.  

The prosecution, led by Chief State Counsels Nanfe Mbap and Solomon Gyang Deme, presented medical reports, eyewitness accounts, and police evidence, all of which pointed to Emmanuel’s guilt. The defense failed to counter the overwhelming proof of premeditation, including Emmanuel’s threats and the public nature of the attack.  

Justice Bakfur condemned the act as a severe breach of safety within an educational institution, emphasizing that such violence warrants the strictest punishment under the law.  

With no grounds for leniency, the court sentenced Emmanuel to death by hanging.