Kano High Court has imposed the death penalty by hanging on two men for the 2016 murder of a university lecturer during an armed robbery. The convicted individuals, Aliyu Hussaini and Amir Zakariyya, were found guilty of conspiracy, armed robbery, and culpable homicide.
The victim, Buhari Imam, was a lecturer at Northwest University Kano, whose death in his home in 2016 became a high-profile case. The legal framework of Kano, heavily influenced by the common law of Nigeria, mandates the death sentence for offenses like murder and fatal armed robbery.
The prosecution, led by Lamido Abba-Sorondinki, argued that the state proved its case beyond a reasonable doubt through witness testimony, medical reports, and photographs of the deceased, thereby meeting the legal requirements for conviction and the mandatory death sentence. The convicts maintained their innocence throughout the trial.
While the death sentence is a legal and mandated punishment, critics, including human rights organisations, argue that the sentence violates international human rights norms and is subject to deep flaws within Nigeria’s criminal justice system.
The convicted men face the prospect of a mandatory appeal process. While the death sentence is mandatory for this class of offense under Kano State law, the actual execution is unlikely to occur immediately.
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