Sister stabs elder brother to death at wedding ceremony

• Man bags 14 years for ‘killing’ sister
A wedding ceremony on Saturday went awry in Kano State when one Sani Sulaiman, aged 30, was stabbed to death by his younger sister, Mariya Sulaiman.

Tragic struk the Sulaiman family when the deceased and his sister engaged in a minor misunderstanding, which dramatically led to a physical combat, ending with the death of Sani at their Badawa layout quarters in Kano metropolis.

Ward Head of Unguwan Gaya Badawa, Alhaji Haliru Mohammed, expressed shock over the tragic incident, adding that the parents of the accused and the victim slumped when the sad news was broken to them and are receiving treatment at a nearby hospital, as at the time of filing this report.

According to a source, an argument ensued because the late Sani allegedly maltreated his sister’s baby though eyewitnesses claimed the cause of the incident was the refusal of Sani to organize a traditional wedding party for two of his younger sisters.

When contacted, police spokesperson in Kano, DSP Abdullahi Haruna, confirmed the development. He said a detachment of operatives were deployed to the scene soon after receiving the distress call only to find the victim lying lifeless.

According to him, “the incident occurred on Saturday at about 8:00p.m. We received a report that one Sani was stabbed to death by his own sister. When we got to the scene, we found the victim lying in the pool of his blood and we immediately rushed him to Muhammad Abdullahi Wase Hospital, where he was confirmed dead.”

Haruna said preliminary investigation revealed that an argument broke out between the two siblings over music before Mariya stabbed her brother on the neck.

He added that the Commissioner of Police, Ahmed Iliyasu, had ordered the arrest of the suspected murderer and the case has been transferred to State Criminal Investigation Department for discreet investigation.

Meanwhile, the late Sani had been buried according to Islamic rites.

In another development, an Igbosere High Court in Lagos has sentenced a man, Obinna Udefi, to 14 years imprisonment for the 2009 death of his younger sister, Oluchi. Justice Adedayo Akintoye convicted Udefi on a one-count charge of involuntary manslaughter after discharging him of the offence of murder.

The judge upheld the defendant’s argument, made by his counsel, Mrs. Grace Adenubi, that he did not deliberately kill Oluchi, as claimed by the Lagos State government.

The state alleged that Udefi stabbed Oluchi in the stomach with a broken bottle because she refused to give him food, following which she died. He spent nine years in prison custody during the trial, which began before Justice Adeniyi Adebajo, but was concluded by Justice Akintoye.

But dismissing the state’s allegation, Justice Akintoye upheld Udefi’s argument that after he pushed Oluchi, she fell against a crate of empty bottles and landed on some of the bottles, which had broken on the floor.
A few hours later – and in unclear circumstances – she was dead.

The judge held: “The prosecution has been unable to prove that this act of the defendant was intentional. I further find that while the prosecution was unable to prove a case of murder, they have been able to establish a case of manslaughter.

“Once the deceased failed to answer the defendant or give him his food, he ought to have walked past her and got his food himself. It is clear that the act of the defendant caused the death of the deceased, albeit inadvertently.”

She noted that there was no medical report to show the exact cause of death. Nevertheless, the judge emphasised that although Udefi’s push “was done without intent to cause grievous bodily harm or death,” he was responsible for the consequences.

“Obinna Udefi is hereby found guilty of manslaughter and is accordingly convicted,” Justice Akintoye said.