BREAKING: Three Youth sentenced to death in niger state for killing a married woman
UTHMAN BABA- ALSIRAJDEEN, MINNA
There was a mild drama in Minna High court number Seven as parents of three children break down in tears when Justice Balkisu Gambo Yusuf convicted their three children to death by electrocution
The three siblings were in 2021 arraigned by the office of the Attorney General in the State Ministry of Justice for jointly killing a married woman
The three Convicted siblings were Monday sentenced to death after three years legal tussle at the Minna High Court after they were found guilty of two count charge of joint act and culpable homicide as brought by the Attorney General of Niger State.
They are Amina Aliyu, Aishat Mohammed and Zainab Aliyu all of the same parents and residents of Barkin Saleh area of Minna Niger State.
Aishat Aliyu was said to have on the 23rd of March,2021 killed her rival late Hafsat Aliyu after hitting her with a pestle and setting her corpse on fire in the kitchen.
They were earlier arraigned before a Minna Chief Magistrate court Number One for a preliminary trial pending legal advice from the office of the Director of Public Prosecution in the office of the Attorney General.
They were charged to the Niger High Court number Seven on two count charges which bothered on joint act and culpable homicide punishable under section 97 and 221 of the penal code.
During the full trial at the High court, four persons testified as witnesses which include the husband Alhaji Muhammad Sani who gave vivid testimonies on how his late wife was killed by her own rival Amina after which set her ablaze.
While analysing the judgement, the Presiding Judge, Justice Balkisu Gambo Yusuf, averred that the two count charge of joint act and culpable homicide punishable under section 97 and 221 of the penal were established against the three convicts as proved by the prosecutor.
The punishment of culpable homicide, according to Justice Balkisu Gambo Yusuf attract death penalty ” the three convict were found guilty as charged”
The defense counsel to the convicts Barrister, Peter Omale while pleading for leniency on behalf of the convicts, drew the attention of the Judge to the age of the third convict, Zainab Aliyu, who was a teenager at the time the offence was committed.
” My Lord, before you pronounce your verdict on the Convicts, I want to dream your attention to the age of the third convict, Zainab Aliyu, who was below age eighteen as at the time the offence was committed.
She was under aged in March, 2021 when the offence was committed and according to the administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA), no under age standing trial on a capital offence of culpable homicide should be sentenced to death,
” The ACJA law has already been domesticated in Niger State which has taken care of excluding her from facing any capital sentence. My Lord, I want you to temper justice with mercy while passing your verdict on her” he pleaded in an emotional laden tune.
At this point,while considering the plea of the defence counsel, Justice Balkisu Gambo Yusuf, noted that “as at 2021, when the offence was committed, the administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA) was already domesticated which really excluded some body below the age of eighteen to be convicted for capital related offence, however,the third convict Zainab Aliyu is hereby Convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment.
” While Amina Aliyu, Aishat Aliyu are sentenced to death by electrocution. May the Lord have mercy on their souls” she pronounced.
