A Kano State High Court has sentenced two men, Adamu Aliyu, 22, and Mubarak Abdulsalam, 20, to death by hanging for the killing of their employer, Dahiru Musa, 32.
The court also sentenced a third defendant, Sadiq Sunusi, 19, to seven years’ imprisonment for abetting the crime and burning the deceased’s corpse, reports Channels TV.
Aliyu, of Gaida Yan Kusa Quarters, Kano, and Abdulsalam, of Mandawari Quarters, were convicted on two counts of criminal conspiracy and culpable homicide, while Sunusi was convicted on one count of abetment.
Delivering judgment on Monday, Justice Fatima Adamu held that the prosecution had proved its case beyond reasonable doubt.
The judge described the defendants’ actions, particularly the killing and subsequent burning of the deceased’s body to conceal evidence, as inhumane and wicked.
Earlier, the prosecution counsel, Salisu Muhammad-Tahir, who is also the Kano State Solicitor-General, told the court that the offence was committed on September 29, 2024, at Gaida Yan Kusa Quarters in Kano.
He said Aliyu and Abdulsalam conspired to kill Musa, who was Aliyu’s employer, by poisoning him with rat poison before stabbing him several times with knives.
Muhammad-Tahir further told the court that on September 30, 2024, at about 6 p.m., Sunusi escorted Abdulsalam to Gaida Quarters, where they bought petrol before proceeding to an uncompleted building.
He said Abdulsalam used the petrol to burn the corpse, while Sunusi, who knew it was a human body, failed to report the incident to the authorities.
The prosecution called five witnesses and tendered several exhibits, including knives, confessional statements and a video, to establish its case against the defendants.
The offences were said to contravene Sections 97, 221 and 86 of the Penal Code.
The defendants, however, pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Their counsel, Mustafa Idris, presented them as witnesses and pleaded for leniency, urging the court to temper justice with mercy.
The judge reportedly gave the convicts 90 days to appeal the judgment if they were dissatisfied with the decision.
