6.11.2026
A Kano State High Court has sentenced two men to death after being convicted of killing a housewife Fatima Abubakar and her six children in Kano.
Abubakar,35, and her children were murdered in cold blood at their resident in Dorayi Chiranchi Quarters, Kano on January 17, 2026, in a horror crime that gripped the nation.
Presiding judge Justice Nasiru Saminu said the prosecution proved the case against the suspects Umar Auwalu, and Yakubu Dayyabu, beyond reasonable doubt. The men faced a nine-count charge of conspiracy, culpable homicide, and armed robbery.
However, the third defendant, Isyaku Yakubu, 21, of Sabon Gida Sharada Quarters, was discharged and acquitted.
The judge described the brutal killing of the mother and her six children as a horrific crime that challenged the conscience of society.
He said the deceased were entitled to the protection of their home but were attacked by people who ought to have protected them, noting that the first defendant was the nephew of the deceased, Fatima.
“Uncle of the children turn to a bonfire and monster. Seven opportunities have been permanently lost to grow into responsible members of society” Saminu said.
The Judge also noted that Haruna Bashir, the husband and father of the deceased, had been thrown into anguish, adding that no compensation could restore the lives lost or erase the trauma.
“How I wish there is a punishment heavier than this. My emphasis is not to administer vengeance, but justice,” he said
The judge sentenced Umar Auwalu and Yakubu Dayyabu to life imprisonment with hard labour each for conspiracy and armed robbery.
He also sentenced the defendants each to death by hanging for culpable homicide.
“May God have mercy on your soul”
Earlier, the Prosecution Counsel, Attorney General of Kano State, Abdulkarim Kabiru-Maude, told the court that the defendants conspired, armed themselves with sticks, iron rod, sharp cutlass and trespassed into the house of Fatima, situated at Dorayi and robbed the deceased housewife of her two handsets (Infinix and Itel) and cash sum of N200,000.
“In the process the defendants hit Fatima with a stick and iron rod on her neck and hit her with a sewing machine on her head which killed her.
“On Jan.17, 2026 at about 11:30 a.m, Umar and Dayyabu hit Fatima’s six children; Maimuna, 17, Aisha, 16, Bashir,13, Abubakar, 10, Faruk 7, and Abdulsalam Haruna a toddler with a stick and stabbed them with a knife and a sharp cutlass on their face, body and head which they died instantly.
The defendants also after killing the children threw Faruk and Abdulsalam into a well at the house,” he said. With NAN reports