Get Guardian on GoogleA Kano State High Court on Friday has sentenced Umar Auwalu and Yakubu Dayyabu, to death by hanging for the gruesome murder of a housewife, Fatima Abubakar, 35, and her six children at Dorayi Chiranchi Quarters, Kano.
The court also sentenced the two convicts to life imprisonment with hard labour each for conspiracy and armed robbery.
The third defendant, Isyaku Yakubu, 21, of Sabon Gida Sharada Quarters, was, however, discharged and acquitted for lack of credible evidence linking him to the murder.
Justice Nasiru Saminu found the two person ls guilty of two count charges filed against insisted the prosecution proved charges against them beyond reasonable doubt.
Justice Saminu described the killing of the housewife and her six children as a horrific crime that challenged the conscience of society.
He said the victims were entitled to the protection of their home but were attacked by people who ought to have protected them, particularly as the first defendant, Auwalu, was a nephew of the deceased.
Justice Saminu lamented that seven lives, which could have grown into responsible members of society, had been permanently lost.
“How I wish there is a punishment heavier than this. My emphasis is not to administer vengeance but justice,” the judge said.
On the third defendant, Justice Saminu held that although there were telephone conversations between him and the first and second defendants, the prosecution failed to establish the contents of the conversations or demonstrate that they amounted to conspiracy.
The judge further noted that evidence before the court showed that Isyaku was at Gano attending a Qur’anic graduation ceremony at the time of the incident.
Earlier, the prosecution counsel and Attorney-General of Kano State, Abdulkarim Kabiru-Maude, told the court that the defendants committed the offences on January 17, 2026, at about 11:30 a.m. at Dorayi Chiranchi Quarters, Kano.
He said the defendants allegedly conspired, armed themselves with sticks, an iron rod and a sharp cutlass before trespassing into the residence of Fatima. According to him, they robbed the deceased of two mobile phones, an Infinix and an Itel, as well as N200,000 in cash.
The Attorney-General told the court that the defendants attacked Fatima with sticks and an iron rod, hitting her on the neck before striking her head with a sewing machine, which resulted in her death.
He further alleged that the defendants attacked her six children, identified as Maimuna, 17; Aisha, 16; Bashir, 13; Abubakar, 10; Faruk, seven; and Abdulsalam Haruna, a toddler, with sticks, knives and cutlasses, inflicting injuries on their faces, bodies and heads.
The prosecution said Faruk and Abdulsalam were subsequently thrown into a well within the premises after the attack.
During the trial, Auwalu pleaded guilty to the charges but denied throwing the children into the well, while Dayyabu and Isyaku pleaded not guilty.
The prosecution presented eight witnesses and tendered 30 exhibits, including medical reports from Murtala Muhammad Specialist Hospital, Kano, confessional statements, a bloodstained broken iron rod, a stool, bloodstained trousers, N200,000 cash, two mobile phones and a flash drive containing audio-visual recordings.
The prosecution maintained that the offences contravened Sections 97, 221 and 298(c) of the Penal Code.
The defence counsels, J.I. Musa, who represented the first defendant, and M.S. Baba, who appeared for the second and third defendants, presented five witnesses and called the defendants to testify in their defence.
Speaking to journalists after the judgment, Attorney-General Kabiru-Maude commended Justice Saminu and the state counsel under the Kano State Ministry of Justice for their efforts in prosecuting the case.
