Niger State: Siblings sentenced to death for killing married woman

• The siblings, residents of the Barkin Saleh area of Minna, were found guilty of jointly killing a Hafsat in 2021.

In Niger State, two siblings have been sentenced to death by electrocution over the death of one Hafsat Aliyu, a married woman.

A third sibling was sentenced to life imprisonment for her involvement in the culpable homicide.

The siblings, residents of the Barkin Saleh area of Minna, were found guilty of jointly killing Hafsat in 2021.

The three siblings: Amina Aliyu, Aishat Mohammed, and Zainab Aliyu were convicted and sentenced by Justice Balkisu Gambo Yusuf of Minna High Court Number 7.

Aishat Aliyu was said to have bludgeoned Hafsat with a pestle and set her corpse on fire in the kitchen.

Amina Aliyu and Aishat Mohammed were sentenced to death by electrocution, while Zainab Aliyu, who was a teenager at the time of the offense, received a life imprisonment sentence.

The court’s verdict followed a trial in which four witnesses, including Hafsat’s husband, Alhaji Muhammad Sani, testified.

The prosecution successfully proved the two-count charge of joint act and culpable homicide against the siblings.

Before pronouncing the sentence, Justice Yusuf considered the plea of the defense counsel, Barrister Peter Omale, who highlighted Zainab’s age at the time of the offense.

Omale referenced the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA), which prohibits capital sentences for individuals under 18.

The verdict marked the end of a three-year legal battle, which began with the siblings’ arraignment before the Minna Chief Magistrate Court Number One for a preliminary trial.