A Kano State High Court has sentenced one Abdulaziz Umar to death by hanging for the murder of a 22-year-old man, Mubarak Salisu Badawa. Umar was convicted on a two-count charge of armed robbery and culpable homicide.
Delivering the judgment on Monday, May 4, 2026, the trial judge, Justice Zuwaira Yusuf, held that the prosecution had proven its case beyond reasonable doubt. She found the defendant guilty on all counts and convicted him as charged.
The incident occurred on October 1, 2020, at about 6:00pm at the Race Course in the Badawa area of Kano, where the victim was attacked and robbed of his Samsung handset valued at N100,000. Umar was charged alongside several accomplices identified as Muyi, Umar Sarki, Diga, Ashosho, and Taduke, who are all currently at large.
During the trial, the prosecution, led by Aisha Salisu, a Deputy Director of Public Prosecution in the Kano State Ministry of Justice, presented four witnesses whose testimonies implicated the defendant. The defence counsel, Ya’u Abdullahi Umar, called only the convict to testify in his defence.
According to the charges, the defendant and his accomplices conspired to rob the victim, carried out the robbery using a knife, and caused his death by stabbing him, with the knowledge that such action could result in fatal consequences. The court found him guilty of criminal conspiracy, armed robbery, culpable homicide punishable with death, and brigandage under relevant provisions of the Penal Code Law of Kano State. Justice Yusuf subsequently sentenced Abdulaziz Umar to death by hanging in accordance with the law.
