Rape: Kano Shari’a Court sentences man to death by stoning

An Upper Shari’a Court sitting in Kano, last Wednesday, reportedly sentenced a 60-year-old man, Abdu, to death by stoning after his conviction for raping a 12-year-old girl.

Abdu was convicted on a count charge of rape contrary to Section 126 of Kano State Shari’a Penal Code Law 2000.

The trial judge, Ibrahim Sarki-Yola, said the accused person pleaded guilty to the charge after the case was adjourned for the fourth time without changing his plea.

Sarki-Yola said the court was convinced by the accused person’s admission of the charge against him and found him guilty.

The Judge, thereafter, convicted the accused and sentenced him to death by stoning under Section 127 (b) of the Kano State Shari’a Code Law 2000.

Sarki-Yola, however, ordered a 30-day grace within which to appeal the judgment.

Earlier, the Prosecution Counsel, Ms Badariya Muhammad, had told the court that the convict committed the offence sometimes in 2019, at Farsa village in Tsanyawa Local Government Area of the State.

With the pace of justice delivery against evils that man does to man and existence in Northern Nigeria’s Kano Shari’a Court, the country may be witnessing unprecedented cleansing from unexpected angle, despite opposition by non-Muslims who, for lack of knowledge and religious tolerance, don’t want it to happen, The DEFENDER was told by a respondent.

This is as Southern Nigeria victims of rape still have their hope of ever getting justice hung in the balance as politicians representing them in government are still no conclusive about what punishment should be meted to rape criminals.

In few states, however, rape has between seven and 14 years imprisonment as punishment by common law aspect of the same Constitution that empowers the North to help bring sanity to their society through Shari’a system.