Abdulaziz Umar has been sentenced to death by hanging by a Kano State High Court for the October 1, 2020, killing of Mubarak Salisu during a robbery. The incident occurred at about 6:00pm at the Race Course in Badawa area of Kano, when Umar and his accomplices attacked Salisu and stole his Samsung phone valued at N100,000. Justice Zuwaira Yusuf, delivering the judgment on Monday, found Umar guilty of criminal conspiracy, armed robbery, culpable homicide punishable with death, and brigandage under the Kano State Penal Code Law. The prosecution, led by Aisha Salisu, Deputy Director of Public Prosecution in the Kano State Ministry of Justice, presented four witnesses whose testimonies linked Umar to the crime. The defence counsel, Ya'u Abdullahi Umar, called only the defendant to testify. Umar was tried alongside several others—Muyi, Umar Sarki, Diga, Ashosho, and Taduke—who remain at large. The court held that the prosecution had proven its case beyond reasonable doubt.
Abdulaziz Umar faces execution while his co-defendants remain free, exposing a disconnect between judicial outcomes and actual justice delivery. The conviction rests solely on testimony from four prosecution witnesses, with no resolution yet on the others involved in the attack. The stolen Samsung phone, valued at N100,000, became the catalyst for a death sentence, underscoring how petty theft can escalate to capital punishment under current sentencing frameworks. Nigerians named in the case, including the victim's family and fugitive suspects, remain bound to a legal process moving forward without full closure.
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