Court Sentences Two To Death For Killing Woman, Six Children In Kano

A Kano State High Court has sentenced two men to death by hanging for the murder of a woman and her six children in Dorayi Chiranci, Kano.

The judgment, delivered on Friday by Justice Nasiru Saminu of High Court No. 11, followed the conviction of the defendants on seven counts of culpable homicide arising from the killing of the seven family members on January 17, 2026.

The court also sentenced the two men to life imprisonment with hard labour for armed robbery.

In the same judgment, a third defendant, Isiyaku Abdul’azeez, popularly known as Chebe, was discharged and acquitted after the court ruled that the prosecution failed to establish his involvement in the murder and conspiracy charges.

Reacting to the judgment, Kano State Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Abdulkarim Kabir Maude, described the incident as one of the darkest moments in the state’s history.

“January 17, 2026, was a tragic day in the history of Kano State. The killing of seven members of one family is an incident the people of this state will never forget,” he said.

Maude, who led the prosecution, said the conviction followed the presentation of eight prosecution witnesses, thirty exhibits and evidence from the defence.

According to him, the judgment has vindicated the prosecution’s position on the involvement of the two convicts in the killings and armed robbery.

The Attorney General also declared the state government’s readiness to pursue the implementation of the death sentence if the convicts failed to exercise their right of appeal within the period provided by law.

He commended the police for what he described as a thorough investigation and praised officials of the Ministry of Justice for their role in securing the conviction.

On the acquitted defendant, Maude disclosed that although Isiyaku Abdul’azeez had been cleared in the present case, he was still facing two separate cases, with judgments expected later.

Earlier, Justice Saminu underscored the seriousness of the crime, observing that the magnitude of the killings deserved the harshest possible punishment.

The case arose from the January 17 attack on the family home in Dorayi Chiranci, where Fatima Abubakar and her six children were killed, while her husband, Haruna Bashir, survived.

The prosecution team comprised the Attorney General and Barrister Salisu Muhammad Tahir, while J. I. Musa and A. I. Baba represented the defendants.