Kano court sentences two men to death for killing employer

A Kano State High Court has sentenced two men, Adamu Aliyu, 22, and Mubarak Abdulsalam, 20, to death by hanging for killing their employer, Dahiru Musa, 32.

The court also sentenced a third defendant, Sadiq Sunusi, 19, to seven years in prison for helping to burn the victim’s body.

Aliyu, from Gaida Yan Kusa Quarters, and Abdulsalam, from Mandawari Quarters, were found guilty of criminal conspiracy and culpable homicide, while Sunusi was convicted of helping to destroy evidence.

Delivering the judgment on Monday, Justice Fatima Adamu said the prosecution had proved its case beyond reasonable doubt.

The judge described the defendants’ actions, including poisoning, stabbing and burning the victim’s body to hide evidence, as inhumane and wicked.

Earlier, the prosecution counsel and Kano State Solicitor-General, Salisu Muhammad-Tahir, told the court that the crime 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 first 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 6pm, Sunusi accompanied Abdulsalam to Gaida Quarters, where they bought petrol before going to an uncompleted building.

He said Abdulsalam used the petrol to burn the victim’s body, while Sunusi, who knew it was a human corpse, failed to report the incident to the authorities.

The prosecution presented five witnesses and several pieces of evidence, including knives, confessional statements and a video recording, to support its case.

The defendants had pleaded not guilty to the charges, while their lawyer, Mustafa Idris, called on the court to show mercy after presenting their defence.

The court also gave the convicts 90 days to appeal against the judgment if they were dissatisfied with the decision.