Court Sentences Son Of Former House Of Reps Member To Death By Hanging

A High court sitting in Katsina State has sentenced 32 year old Mu’ammar Tukur, son of former House of Representatives member and District Head of Bakori, to death by hanging for culpable homicide.

Tukur was dragged before the court for using a knife to stab one Shafir Muktar to death on April 21st 2008 during a fight between him and some other young men at a football viewing center.

Delivering judgment in the case today, the presiding judge, Justice Abbas Bawale, said the argument put forward by the convict's counsel, AbdulAziz Olagoke, were unsustainable.

Bawale said that the accused went into hiding between 2008 and 2013 after committing the crime and was arrested at the grave yard during the funeral of his deceased mother.

He added that Tukur's explanation that he was provoked to commit the crime was not satisfactory because he left the scene and came with the metallic instrument to commit the crime.

The judge said the prosecution had proved the case beyond reasonable doubt as required by law and sentenced the convict to death by hanging. He stressed that the plea for leniency could not be entertained because the court’s discretion was blocked by law and directed that the plea should be set to the state governor.