Man sentenced to death for killing 23 worshippers in Kano mosque fire

An upper Sharia court in Kano has sentenced 38-year-old Shafi’u Abubakar to death by hanging for setting a mosque on fire and killing 23 people.

Delivering judgment on Monday, Halhalatu Khuza’i-Zakariyya, Kadi who presided over the case, ordered that Abubakar be flogged 150 strokes of the cane.

The convict, who lives in Gezawa LGA in Kano state, was charged with culpable homicide, attempted murder, causing grievous hurt and mischief by fire.

The Kadi held that out of the seven witnesses presented by the prosecution, only the testimonies of two witnesses proved the case beyond a reasonable doubt.

He said that the testimonies of Pw1, Pw2, Pw3, Pw5, and Pw6 were mere hearsay evidence since they were not present when the incident occurred.

“The court admits the testimony of Pw4, Ibrahim Salisu. He earlier told the court that he did not see the defendant setting the mosque on fire, but saw him running. I hereby admit this as circumstantial evidence,” he said.

Khuza’i-Zakariyya also accepted the testimony of Pw7, Abdullahi Sa’idu, a police officer, for presenting the defendant’s confessional statement.

“The burns on the defendant’s hand also indicate he committed the offence. I hereby find the defendant guilty on all four counts,” he said.

The judge sentenced the defendant to death by hanging for murder and 100 strokes of the cane for attempted murder.

He also ordered the defendant to pay a fine of N1,500 for causing grievous hurt and 50 strokes of the cane for mischief by fire.

Khuza’i-Zakariyya also ordered the state government to collect the defendant’s tricycle and sell it to renovate the mosque.

”The defendant has 30 days to appeal the judgment,” the court ruled.

According to the prosecution, the convict committed the offence on May 15, 2024.

Abubakar was said to have gone to a mosque in Gadan Larabar Abasawa Village, poured petrol and lit a fire while the 23 victims were praying at about 5:05 to 5:20 a.m.

The victims were taken to Murtala Muhammad Specialist Hospital, Kano, and 23  people later died.