A Minna High Court in Niger State has sentenced two sisters, Amina Aliyu and Aishat Mohammed, to death by hanging for the brutal murder of Amina’s co-wife, Hafsat Fatima Aliyu.
In March 2021, just seven weeks after Hafsat married their husband, Alhaji Muhammad Sani, at their family residence in Barkin Saleh, Minna, she was murdered.
According to the prosecution, Aishat attacked Hafsat with a pestle and then set her body on fire in the kitchen. The trial, which lasted three years, saw four witnesses testify, including Alhaji Sani, who recounted how Amina killed Hafsat.
Justice Balkisu Gambo Yusuf of Minna High Court 7 delivered the verdict, stating, “The punishment for culpable homicide under Section 221 of the Penal Code is death.” However, the youngest sibling, Zainab, received a life imprisonment sentence due to her age at the time of the crime.
The defence counsel, Peter Omale, had urged leniency for Zainab, highlighting her status as a minor.
Justice Yusuf concurred, ruling, “As of 2021, when the offence was committed, the ACJA excluded anyone below 18 from facing the death penalty”.
