KANO COURT SENTENCES TWO MEN TO DEATH FOR KILLING HOUSEWIFE, SIX CHILDREN

A Kano State High Court has sentenced Umar Auwalu and Yakubu Dayyabu to death by hanging for the murder of 35-year-old Fatima Abubakar and her six children at Dorayi Chiranchi Quarters, Kano. The court also sentenced the two men to life imprisonment with hard labour for conspiracy and armed robbery.

Delivering judgment on Friday, November 6, 2026, Justice Nasiru Saminu held that the prosecution had proved its case beyond reasonable doubt against the first and second defendants. Auwalu, 23, and Dayyabu, 40, were convicted on a nine-count charge involving conspiracy, culpable homicide and armed robbery. The judge described the killings as a horrific crime, noting that the victims were attacked in their home by people who should have respected their safety. Auwalu was identified as the nephew of the deceased.

The prosecution, led by Kano State Attorney-General Abdulkarim Kabiru-Maude, told the court that the defendants attacked Fatima and her children on Jan. 17, 2026, with weapons including sticks, an iron rod, a cutlass and a knife. The prosecution alleged that the attackers robbed the housewife of two mobile phones and 200,000 naira before killing her and the children, aged between a toddler and 17 years. It also alleged that two of the children were thrown into a well. The prosecution presented eight witnesses and 30 exhibits, including medical reports, confessional statements and physical evidence.

The court discharged and acquitted the third defendant, Isyaku Yakubu, 21, ruling that there was no credible evidence linking him to the conspiracy. Justice Saminu said although telephone conversations between him and the other defendants were established, their contents were not proved, while evidence placed him at a Qur’anic graduation ceremony in Gano at the time of the incident.

Auwalu, who pleaded guilty to the charges, sought forgiveness from the court, the Kano State Government, the Kano Emirate Council, his family and Nigerians. The state Attorney-General later commended the prosecution team and the judge.