<p><strong> ARIWOOLA JSC (DELIVERING THE LEADING JUDGMENT): </strong> The appellant had been sentenced to death by hanging, having been found culpable and convicted by the trial court in Sokoto on 29 February 2008 for slaughtering his step mother - Inno Adamu on 25 August 2002. The said conviction and sentence were affirmed by the Court of Appeal, Sokoto Division, on 11 January 2010. Dissatisfaction with the decision of the Court of Appeal, hereinafter called “the court below,” led to the instant appeal by the appellant.</p><p>The matter that culminated into this appeal originated from the charge and trial of the appellant in Sokoto. The following charge had been preferred against the appellant: “That you Umaru Adamu on or about 25 August 2002 at about 0500 hours in Marina Dalhatu Area of Sokoto North Local Government Area within the Sokoto Judicial Division while armed with a knife did commit a heinous act by slaughtering Inno Adamu with the said knife as a result of which she died knowing fully well that her …</p>