Man sentenced to death by stoning retracts confession

A 54-year-old man sentenced to death by an Islamic court in northern Nigeria denied his confessional statement on Tuesday, saying he gave it under duress. Mohammed Baranda, convicted of raping a nine-year-old girl, told a Shari’ah appeal court in Dutse, capital of Jigawa State, that police tortured him into making the confession. He said he did not realise at the time that the penalty for rape was death. In September, Baranda escaped being the first person to be stoned to death in northern Nigeria when his family made a last-minute appeal against the sentence, passed by a lower court. His lawyer and relatives pleaded that he was mentally ill. The state prosecutor urged the court to dismiss Baranda's allegations of torture, saying he could not produce during the appeal evidence that he had not presented during the initial trial. He also asked the court to disregard Baranda’s claims of insanity. Baranda's lawyer said that under Islamic law, accused persons had the right to withdraw their confessions. The court adjourned to 28 October, when it intends to decide whether to accept the withdrawal of Baranda’s confession. Three other appeals against death sentences handed by Sharia courts are pending. They were filed by 31-year-old Amina Lawal, sentenced to death in Katsina State for having a child out of wedlock, and two unmarried lovers convicted in Niger State.