Two sentenced to death for killing motorcyclist in Kano

A Kano State High Court has sentenced two men, Hassan Abdullahi and Sani Umar, to death by hanging after finding them guilty of murdering a commercial motorcyclist during a robbery.

The convicts were tried alongside a third suspect, Zaharaddeen, popularly known as Zara, who is currently on the run.

According to the prosecution, the three men conspired to rob the victim, Sulaiman Hassan, of his Boxer motorcycle on September 10, 2020, along the Madobi-Kubaraci Road in Madobi Local Government Area of Kano State.

The prosecution, led by Assistant Director in the Kano State Ministry of Justice, Tijjani Ibrahim, told the court that the suspects attacked the motorcyclist with the wooden handle of a hoe, striking him on the neck before abandoning him unconscious in a rice field by the roadside and escaping with his motorcycle.

The defendants were arraigned on charges of criminal conspiracy, culpable homicide and robbery under the Kano State Penal Code.

During the trial, the prosecution called four witnesses to support its case.

One of the witnesses, Amira Abdullahi, testified that the first defendant handed her a mobile phone later identified as belonging to the deceased, linking him to the crime.

The defence counsel, Tajuddeen Abdullahi, presented the defendants and one additional witness in their defence.

Delivering judgment, Justice Amina Adamu Aliyu held that the prosecution had established its case beyond reasonable doubt.

The court subsequently convicted Hassan Abdullahi and Sani Umar and sentenced them to death by hanging.

Justice Aliyu noted that the evidence presented before the court sufficiently established the defendants’ involvement in the robbery and killing of the commercial motorcycle operator.

The third suspect, Zaharaddeen, alias Zara, remains at large.