Man sentenced to death for killing 23 worshippers in Kano mosque fire

Man sentenced to death for killing 23 worshippers in Kano mosque fire

An upper Sharia court in Kano has sentenced 38-year-old
Shafi’u Abubakar to death by hanging for setting a mosque on fire and killing
23 people. Delivering judgment on Monday, Halhalatu Khuza’i-Zakariyya,
Kadi who presided over the case, ordered that Abubakar be flogged 150 strokes
of the cane. The convict, who lives in Gezawa LGA in Kano state, was
charged with culpable homicide, attempted murder, causing grievous hurt and
mischief by fire. The Kadi held that out of the seven witnesses presented by
the prosecution, only the testimonies of two witnesses proved the case beyond a
reasonable doubt. He said that the testimonies of Pw1, Pw2, Pw3, Pw5, and Pw6
were mere hearsay evidence since they were not present when the incident
occurred. “The court admits the testimony of Pw4, Ibrahim Salisu. He
earlier told the court that he did not see the defendant setting the mosque on
fire, but saw him running. I hereby admit this as circumstantial evidence,” he
said. Khuza’i-Zakariyya also accepted the testimony of Pw7,
Abdullahi Sa’idu, a police officer, for presenting the defendant’s confessional
statement.  “The burns on the defendant’s hand also indicate he
committed the offence. I hereby find the defendant guilty on all four counts,”
he said. The judge sentenced the defendant to death by hanging for
murder and 100 strokes of the cane for attempted murder. He also ordered the defendant to pay a fine of N1,500 for
causing grievous hurt and 50 strokes of the cane for mischief by fire. Khuza’i-Zakariyya also ordered the state government to
collect the defendant’s tricycle and sell it to renovate the mosque.  ”The defendant has 30 days to appeal the judgment,” the
court ruled. According to the prosecution, the convict committed the
offence on May 15, 2024. Abubakar was said to have gone to a mosque in Gadan Larabar
Abasawa Village, poured petrol and lit a fire while the 23 victims were praying
at about 5:05 to 5:20 a.m. The victims were taken to Murtala Muhammad Specialist
Hospital, Kano, and 23  people later
died.





























































 

Source: Man sentenced to death for killing 23 worshippers in Kano mosque fire

 - NigerianEye

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