January 11, 2021.
Jigawa State High Court Sentences a father of a four-year-old girl to death for burying her alive, one other to life imprisonment for rape.
The Jigawa State High Court Sitting in Ringim presided by Justice Ahmed Mohammed Kazaure has on 8th January 2021 delivered judgments in the case of Nasiru Hamisu v State in which Nasiru Hamisu was alleged to have killed his 4-year-old biological daughter named Zainab by burying her alive and the case of Gambo Muhammad who was accused of raping a four-year-old girl.
In Nasiru Hamisu v State, the Counsel to the Prosecution Dr Musa Adamu Aliyu, Attorney General Jigawa State called three witnesses. Among which included a medical doctor. Dr Yusuf Saidu, a General Medical Practitioner at Ringim General Hospital, examined late Zainab and certified her dead. The witness concluded his testimony by stating that the cause of death of the little girl was probably an injury secondary to the Spinal-Cord Injury at the neck’s neck’s level.
Hamisu Abubakar is the Second prosecution witness. He is 70-year old and father of the Defendant. This witness testified that his younger sister met him on one Wednesday and inquired whether the Defendant had brought his daughter – Zainab to his house. The witness replied in the negative, and it was at this point the younger sister of the witness told him that the Defendant had taken his daughter away a day earlier as he did not take her back to her mother. The witness immediately went to the place where Defendant stays. And in that place, the witness met the Defendant, and he asked him the whereabouts of his daughter. The Defendant feigned ignorance of her whereabouts. According to PW2, he noticed signs of sand tilling in the place where the Defendant lives. That sign made him dig the area, and he discovered the body of the Defendant’s daughter, and she was dead. The case was reported to the police who arrested the Defendant.
Third Prosecution Witness is one Aliya Adamu, the mother of the deceased and ex-wife of the Defendant. This witness informed the Court that the Defendant had picked his daughter and he never returned her. Later it was discovered that he had killed Zainab.
Inspector Nuhu Njaba is the Policeman who investigated the case at Taura Police Division. According to the witness, he recorded the Defendant’s confessional statement and identified the extrajudicial statement that was admitted in evidence and marked as Exhibit A1 without objection. After the evidence of this witness, the prosecution closed its case and the Defendant opened his defence.
The Defendant testified for himself and did not call any other witness. According to him, he was a student of Bilyaminu Usman Polytechnic Hadejia. He informed the Court that he was standing trial for homicide in which he was accused of being in possession of the corpse of his late daughter. According to the witness, it was true that he picked his daughter from her mother’s house and took the daughter to his room. It was in the room she fell asleep, and he went out and left her there and by the time he came back, she had died. When his father came to his room and asked him the whereabouts of Zainab, the Defendant lied to him in his answer. According to the Defendant, his father discovered the corpse of Zainab covered. With the evidence of the Defendant, the defence closed their case. The Attorney General argued that he had proved the case beyond reasonable doubt. Defence counsel M. Abubakar asserted to the contrary.
Justice Ahmad Muhamed Kazaure had found that the prosecution has proved its case beyond reasonable doubt against the Defendant. And the learned trial judge found the act of the Defendant as disgusting, heartless and abominable. The Court said that it has watched the demeanor of the Defendant and found him cunny. At the end of the matter, the Court sentenced the Defendant to death and to be hanged till he died.
In the case of Gambo Mohammad v State who allegedly raped a 4-year-old girl, the prosecution counsel, Mustapha B. Adamu called three witnesses and tendered extrajudicial statements of the Defendant. At the same time, the accused person testified as a sole witness for the defence.
Presenting the witnesses, the First Prosecution witness was one Inspector Sunday Ezekiel. He testified that he was part of the Police investigation team at the State C.I.D, Dutse. He recorded the statement of the accused person in Hausa language and translated the same into English. The statements were admitted into evidence and marked as exhibits R1 and R2. In the extrajudicial statement of the Defendant, he admitted to having sexual intercourse with the Prosecutrix.
Second Prosecution witness is the father of the Prosecutrix in the matter. The witness also testified that his daughter was four years old when she was sexually assaulted. He narrated how the matter was reported to the police, who after that investigated the case at both Ringim Police Division and the State C.I.D, Dutse. The witness also stated that the Defendant confessed in his presence of having sexual intercourse with the Prosecutrix.
While the third Prosecution witness was the Prosecutrix, she who gave an unsworn testimony. According to her, she went to fetch grass at the bush when the Defendant led her to a millet farm and had sexual intercourse with her.
The Defendant testified as a witness where he admitted to having sexual intercourse with the Prosecutrix.
Counsel to the Prosecution Mustapha B. Adamu Deputy Director Planning Research and Statistics of the State Ministry of Justice and M. Abubakar Esq Counsel to the Defendant addressed the Court on the case. The prosecution Counsel argued that it had proved the case beyond reasonable doubt. The Defence counsel argued to the contrary.
Justice Ahmad Muhammed Abubakar had found that the prosecution has proved its case beyond reasonable doubt against the Defendant. The Court thereby sentenced Gambo Muhammad to life imprisonment for the offence of rape under section 283 of the Jigawa State penal Code Cap P3 Laws of Jigawa State (As Amended).
Zainab Baba Santali
Public Relations Officer
Jigawa state Ministry of Justice.
