Justice Yusuf Muhammad-Ubale of the Kano State High Court on Friday sentenced a housewife, Fadila Adamu, to death by hanging for throwing an eight-year-old girl into a well.
The defendant was convicted of kidnapping and culpable homicide.
The judge in his ruling held that the prosecution had proven its case beyond a reasonable doubt and sentenced the defendant to death by hanging.
He said: “I hereby sentence the defendant to death by hanging for kidnapping and throwing the victim into a well, which caused her death.”
Earlier, the prosecution counsel, Lamido Abba-Sorondinki, told the court that the defendant committed the offence on July 14, 2019, at Tudun Wada Quarters, Kano.
He said: “At about 4:45 p.m. on that day, the defendant kidnapped the minor and took her to her house.
“The defendant told her sister that the deceased was the daughter of her friend, whose mother had travelled to Ghana, and asked her to keep the child until she returned.
“On July 17, 2019, at about 6:30 p.m., the defendant caused the death of the minor when she threw her into a deep well situated in the Tukuntawa Quarters, Kano.”
Abba-Sorondinki presented seven witnesses, including the defendants’ statements and a medical report confirming the victim’s death.
The defendant denied committing the offence.
The prosecution said the offence contravened Sections 274(b) and 221(a) of the Penal Code.
The defense counsel, Zulaihat Tata, presented four witnesses, including the defendant, to testify in her defense.