By Deborah Nnamdi
A Kano High Court has sentenced two men, Aliyu Hussaini and Amir Zakariyya, to death by hanging for the murder of a lecturer at Northwest University, Kano, Buhari Imam.
The duo was found guilty on a three-count charge of conspiracy, armed robbery, and culpable homicide.
Delivering judgment, Justice Fatima Adamu held that the prosecution had proven its case beyond reasonable doubt, noting that the defendants’ actions showed a “total disregard for human life.”
“I hereby sentence the defendants to five years’ imprisonment each for conspiracy, 10 years’ imprisonment each for robbery without an option of fine, and death by hanging for culpable homicide. May God have mercy on them,” the judge declared.
According to the prosecution, led by Barrister Lamido Sorondinki, the convicts committed the crime on June 11 at Sheka Sabuwar Abuja Quarters, Kano.
He told the court that at about 3:30 a.m. on the said date, the defendants conspired and armed themselves with long knives and machetes, before attacking and robbing the deceased of his mobile phone. They subsequently stabbed him multiple times in the stomach, thigh, and back, leading to his death.
The prosecution called three witnesses and tendered medical reports and photographs of the deceased as evidence.
However, both convicts denied the charges. Their counsel, Barrister Haruna Zakariyya, presented them to testify in their own defence and pleaded for leniency.
The offences contravened Sections 97(1), 298(c), and 221(a) of the Penal Code Laws of Kano State.
