Saminu Malami Esq: To the best of my knowledge and information the
convict is a first time offender who has no any previous record
of conviction. Considering the nature and rampancy of the
offence, we urge the court to sentence the convict in
accordance with the provisions of the law under which he was
arraigned, prosecuted and convicted.
SENTENCE
By the provisions of Section 310(3) of the ACJL of Sokoto State 2019, a
trial court after conviction while sentencing is required to take into
consideration all aggravating and mitigating factors or information as a
guide in deciding the nature and extent of the sentence to be passed on the
convict.
I have considered the allocutus made by the defence counsel on behalf of
the convict as well as the response of the prosecuting counsel. Cognizance
must however be take of the soul of the deceased who lost her life during
the armed robbery incident on the fateful day in addition to the amount of
money to the tune of N2 Million that was forcefully carter away with from
the victims of the crime.
Secondly, the Robbery and Firearms (Special Provisions) Act Cap. R11
LFN 2004 particularly Section 1(2)(a) thereof which created the offence
under which the Defendant was arraigned, prescribed a mandatory
sentence in clear terms. This court cannot therefore pass a sentence
contrary to the Penal Policy of the law creating the offence as determined
by its strict language as doing so will amount to a recipe for chaos in the
Penal Policy and administration of Criminal Justice.
It is trite law that where a statute prescribes a mandatory sentence in clear
terms, a trial court has no jurisdiction to impose anything less than the
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