5 men to die by hanging for killing ‘Kano witch’
A Kano State high court has sentence five men to death by hanging after being found guilty of killing a woman they accused of witchcraft in 2023.
The woman Dahare Abubakar, 67, was beaten and stabbed to the death, while working in her farm in Dadin Kowa Village, Wudil, 45km from Kano city. Her killers identified as Da’luta Ibrahim, Abdulaziz Yahaya, Faisal Yahaya, Ibrahim Abdu, and Ayuba Abdulrahman were arrested by the police after the victim’s son lodged a complaint.
During the trial one of the convicted men Abdulaziz Yahaya, claimed that his wife saw the victim in her dream pursuing her with a knife.
Giving his ruling, Judge Usman Na’abba said the prosecution had proven its case against the five men beyond reasonable doubt.
The prosecutor, Abba Sorondiki, said he hoped the judgement would deter others from making wrongful accusations and then taking matters into their own hands.
“There have been similar cases like this, but this is the first time we are seeing up to five people sentenced to death for murder over wrongful witchcraft accusation,” Mr Sorondiki told the BBC.
The victim’s son, Musa Yahaya, said that the day his mother was killed was the worst day of his life and that he was pleased to see justice being served.
“I am happy because they would get the same treatment they meted out to my mother,” he said.
Defence lawyer Ma’aruf Yakasai said his clients plan to appeal against the verdict.
