A devastating scene unfolded in a Minna High Court in Niger State yesterday, as two teenagers were sentenced to death and their sibling to life imprisonment. The verdict, handed down by Justice Bilkisu Gambo Yussuf, left the parents and sympathisers of Amina Aliyu, Aishat Mohammed, and Zainab Aliyu in tears.
The siblings, all from the same parents and residing in the Barkin Saleh area of Minna, had faced a two-count charge of joint act and culpable homicide punishable with death. The charges, brought by the state Attorney-General, were in relation to the death of Hafsat Aliyu, who was allegedly killed by Aishat Aliyu on March 23, 2021. According to reports, Aishat had hit Hafsat with a pestle and set her corpse on fire in the kitchen.
The prosecution’s case was supported by four witnesses, including the husband of the deceased, Alhaji Mohammed Sani. However, the defence counsel pleaded for leniency on behalf of Zainab Aliyu, who was a teenager at the time of the offence. The counsel argued that, according to the provisions of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA), which had been domesticated by the state, Zainab could not be sentenced to death due to her age at the time of the offence.
Justice Yussuf agreed with the defence counsel, sentencing Zainab to life imprisonment instead of death. However, Amina Aliyu and Aishat Aliyu were not as fortunate, as they were sentenced to death by electrocution. As the judge pronounced the verdict, she prayed, “May the Lord have mercy on their souls.” The parents and sympathisers of the siblings were overcome with emotion, bursting into tears at the news.
