Kano court sentences two to death for poisoning, stabbing employer

A Kano State High Court has sentenced two young men, Adamu Aliyu and Mubarak Abdulsalam, to death by hanging for the gruesome murder of their employer, 32-year-old Dahiru Musa.

A third defendant, 19-year-old Sadiq Sunusi, was handed a seven-year prison term for abetting the crime and setting the deceased’s corpse ablaze.

Delivering the judgment on Monday, Justice Fatima Adamu convicted 22-year-old Aliyu of Gaida Yan Kusa Quarters and 20-year-old Abdulsalam of Mandawari Quarters on two counts of criminal conspiracy and culpable homicide. The court found Sunusi guilty of a single count of abetment, adding that the prosecution proved its case beyond reasonable doubt.

During the trial, the prosecution counsel and Kano State Solicitor-General, Salisu Muhammad-Tahir, informed the court that the crime was committed on September 29, 2024, in Gaida Yan Kusa. He explained that Aliyu and Abdulsalam conspired to murder the victim by first administering rat poison before stabbing him multiple times with knives.

The court heard that the following evening, Sunusi escorted Abdulsalam to purchase petrol, which was used to burn the victim’s remains inside an uncompleted building.

According to the prosecution, Sunusi was fully aware it was a human body but failed to report the incident to security operatives.

The prosecution, to establish its case, called five witnesses and tendered several exhibits, including the murder weapons, confessional statements, and video evidence. The charges were filed under Sections 97, 221, and 86 of the Penal Code.

The defendants pleaded not guilty to the charges during the trial. Although their counsel, Mustafa Idris, presented them as witnesses and urged the court to temper justice with mercy, but Justice Adamu maintained that the act was too callous for leniency. He described the actions of the convicts, as wicked and inhumane.

Meanwhile, the court has granted the convicts a 90-day window to appeal the judgment if they are dissatisfied with the verdict.