Five sentenced to death for killing woman accused of witchcraft

A Kano State High Court on Monday sentenced five men to death by hanging for murdering a 67-year-old woman, Dahare Abubakar, whom they accused of witchcraft.

The convicts—Da’luta Ibrahim, Abdulaziz Yahaya, Faisal Yahaya, Ibrahim Abdu, and Ayuba Abdulrahman—were found guilty of culpable homicide.

Delivering judgment, Justice Usman Na’abba ruled that the prosecution had proved its case beyond reasonable doubt.

“I hereby sentence the defendants to death by hanging for homicide and acquit Nabi’a Ibrahim, the sixth defendant, as evidence shows she was not at the scene,” he ruled.

The prosecution counsel, Lamido Abba-Sorondinki, told the court that the convicts attacked the victim on November 15, 2023, in Dadin Kowa Village, Wudil, Kano.

He said the defendants conspired at about 8:30 a.m. on the same day after suspecting Dahare Abubakar of being a witch.

“In the process, the defendants followed her to the farm and stabbed her to death with dangerous weapons,” he stated.

The victim was rushed to Wudil General Hospital, Kano, where a doctor confirmed her clinically dead.

Abba-Sorondinki presented four witnesses and two exhibits, including the defendants’ extra-judicial statements and a medical report confirming the victim’s death.

The defendants, however, denied committing the offence, which the prosecution said contravened Section 221(a), read with Section 79 of the Penal Code Laws of Kano State, 1991.

The defence counsel, Ma’aruf Yakasai, presented eight witnesses, including the defendants to testify in their defence.