At the time 45-year-old, farmer Abubakari Numburu called the District Chief Executive of Chereponi in the North East Region on the phone to threaten him with death, it never occurred to him that it was enough to earn him five years of his life in prison even without carrying out the threat.
The Northern Region’s Yendi Circuit court considered his conduct a violation of section 75 of the Criminal Offences Act 1960, Act 29 and jailed him following his guilty plea.
The prosecution, led by D/C/Inspector Nicodemus York, detailed how Numburu, a farmer residing in Kwame Nansoni had placed a menacing call to Nashiru Zuwera Muda on November 20, 2023, threatened, “I will kill you if you dare enter Chereponi.”
The alarmed complainant didn’t want to wait for the now-convict to back his death threat with action. He promptly reported the matter to Chereponi police, who, with the assistance of National Security, apprehended Numburu.
During the interrogation, Numburu admitted guilt in his caution statement, leading Judge H/H Justice Francis Ayamwuni Asobayire to decree a five-year prison term for the offence.
Section 75 of Act 29, which Justice Ayamwuni Asobayire relied on to sentence Numburu to the 5-year jail term states: Whoever threatens any other person with death, with intent to put that person in fear of death, is guilty of a second-degree felony.
This story serves as a cautionary tale about the legal repercussions of making threats with the intent to instill fear, emphasizing the commitment to maintaining public safety and order.
