COURT SENTENCES ARSONIST TO DEATH OVER KANO MOSQUE FIRE THAT KILLED 23
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By Aishat Momoh. O.
An Upper Shari’a Court sitting in Kano has sentenced a 38-year-old man, Shafi’u Abubakar, to death by hanging for setting a mosque ablaze during early morning prayers, resulting in the deaths of 23 worshippers.
Delivering the verdict on Monday, Justice Halhalatu Khuza’i-Zakariyya also sentenced the defendant to 150 strokes of the cane for related charges, including attempted murder, causing grievous hurt, and mischief by fire.
Abubakar, a resident of Gezawa Local Government Area in Kano State, was charged with four counts under the Kano State Shari’a Penal Code Law, 2000. The charges stem from a tragic incident on May 15, 2024, when he doused the mosque in petrol and set it ablaze while worshippers were in the middle of their morning prayers in Gadan Larabar Abasawa village.
“The burns on the defendant’s hand also indicate he committed the offence,” Justice Khuza’i-Zakariyya said. “I hereby find the defendant guilty on all four counts.”
According to the prosecution, the attack occurred between 5:05 and 5:20 a.m. as worshippers observed prayers. The blaze claimed 23 lives, while others were injured and rushed to the Murtala Muhammad Specialist Hospital.
Presenting the case, the Director of Public Prosecution, Salisu Tahir, told the court that the defendant had intentionally targeted the victims.
“The defendant poured petrol inside the mosque and set it on fire with the intent to kill,” Tahir said. “Pictures of the victims, the confessional statement in both English and Hausa, and eyewitness testimony were all submitted as evidence.”
Out of the seven witnesses called by the prosecution, the court accepted the testimonies of only two — Pw4, Ibrahim Salisu, and Pw7, Abdullahi Sa’idu, a police officer.
“Pw4 may not have seen the actual act, but his testimony that he saw the defendant fleeing the scene provides circumstantial evidence,” the judge ruled. “The confessional statement presented by Pw7 is further proof.”
The court handed down the following sentences:
Death by hanging for culpable homicide
100 strokes of the cane for attempted murder
N1,500 fine and 50 strokes of the cane for mischief by fire
An order for the defendant’s tricycle to be sold, with proceeds used to repair the mosque
The judge also noted: “The defendant has 30 days to appeal the judgment.”
In her plea for mercy, Defence Counsel Hasiya Muhammad-Imam requested leniency. “We are appealing for compassion and a transfer of the defendant to the Maximum Security Custodial Centre, Janguza,” she said.
Despite her plea, the court upheld the full sentence.
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