A Kano Upper Shari’a Court on Monday sentenced a 38-year-old man, Shafi’u Abubakar, to death by hanging and 150 lashes for setting a mosque ablaze, leading to the deaths of 23 worshippers.
Abubakar, a resident of Gezawa Local Government Area of Kano State, was convicted on four counts including culpable homicide, attempted murder, causing grievous hurt, and mischief by fire.
The tragic incident occurred on May 15, 2024, at a mosque in Gadan Larabar Abasawa village while worshippers were observing early morning prayers.
Delivering the judgement, the presiding judge, Malam Halhalatu Khuza’i-Zakariyya, found the defendant guilty based on circumstantial evidence and his confessional statement.
The court accepted the testimony of a key witness, Ibrahim Salisu, who saw the defendant fleeing the scene, and that of a police officer, Abdullahi Sa’idu, who tendered the defendant’s confession.
“The burns on the defendant’s hands and his confessional statement provide sufficient proof. I hereby find him guilty on all four counts,” the judge declared.
Abubakar was sentenced to death by hanging for murder, 100 strokes of cane for attempted murder, a N1,500 fine for causing grievous hurt, and 50 lashes for mischief by fire. The court also ordered the sale of the convict’s tricycle to help repair the damaged mosque.
Prosecution counsel, Salisu Tahir, who is also the Director of Public Prosecution in Kano, told the court that the convict deliberately poured petrol in the mosque between 5:05 and 5:20 a.m. and set it on fire while 23 people were praying. Some of the victims later died at the Murtala Muhammad Specialist Hospital in Kano.
Tahir tendered the confessional statements in both English and Hausa, as well as photographs of the victims, in evidence. The offence, he noted, contravened Sections 142, 148, 168, and 370 of the Kano State Shari’a Penal Code Law, 2000.
Despite pleading guilty, the defence counsel, Hasiya Muhammad-Imam, appealed to the court for leniency and requested that her client be transferred to the Maximum Security Custodial Centre in Janguza.
The judge noted that Abubakar has 30 days to appeal the verdict.
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