A Kano State High Court on Monday sentenced two men to death by hanging for the 2016 murder of Buhari Imam, a lecturer at Northwest University, Kano.
The convicts, Aliyu Hussaini of Sheka Sabuwar Abuja Quarters and Amir Zakariyya of Unguwar Malam Quarters, Kumbotso Local Government Area, were found guilty of conspiracy, armed robbery, and culpable homicide.
Delivering judgment, Justice Fatima Adamu said, “The action of the defendants shows total disregard for human life. I hereby sentence the defendants to five years’ imprisonment each for conspiracy, ten years each for robbery without an option of fine, and death by hanging for culpable homicide. May God have mercy on them.”
Prosecution counsel Lamido Sorondinki told the court that the convicts attacked Imam at his residence on June 11, 2016. Armed with knives and machetes, they robbed him of his mobile phone and stabbed him several times in the stomach, thigh, and back.
The prosecution presented three witnesses, medical reports, and photographs of the deceased to support its case.
Though the defendants denied the charges, the court ruled that the prosecution had proven its case beyond reasonable doubt.
Their offences violated Sections 97(1), 298(c), and 221(a) of the Penal Code Laws of Kano State.
Defence counsel Haruna Zakariyya had pleaded for leniency before sentencing.
