On Wednesday, a Kano Chief Magistrates’ Court ruled that 24-year-old Hafsat Surajo, a housewife, should be placed under detention at a correctional facility for allegedly fatally stabbing her house helper, Nafiu Hafizu.
The defendant is on trial for two counts of attempted suicide and culpable homicide. The defendant resides in Unguwa Uku Quarters in Kano.
The defendant was placed under detention in a penitentiary facility by Chief Magistrate Hadiza Abdulrahman’s ruling.
She postponed the issue until February 1, 2024 in order to give it further thought.
The prosecution’s attorney, Lamido Sorondinki, had earlier told the court that the defendant had tried suicide on December 20, 2023, cutting herself on her left hand with a sharp knife.
“In the process the defendant used the said sharp knife and stabbed Nafiu on his chest and other parts of his body which led to his death,” Sorondinki.
For the first offense, the defendant entered a guilty plea; for the second charge, they entered a not guilty plea.
The Penal Code’s Sections 281 and 221 were broken by the offence.
Dayyabu Abdullahi, Hafsat’s spouse, was charged with concealing the truth about Nafiu’s purported murder before the Chief Magistrates’ Court.
Three counts of criminal conspiracy, falsification of information, and concealment of fact were brought against him.
Prosecution attorney Sorondinki claimed that on December 20, 2023, the defendants plotted with an as-yet-unapprehended Haruna Adamu to hide the reason behind Nafiu’s demise.
“The defendants misled and gave false information to the deceased family by saying he died as a result of pile surgery,” he said.
The prosecutor claimed that the offence violated the Penal Code’s Sections 97, 277, and 178.
In accordance with Sections 168 and 172 of the ACJL 2019 Kano State and Section 36(5) of the 1999 Nigerian Constitution as amended, the defense attorneys, Rabiu Sidi and Rabiu Abdullahi, pleaded with the court to give the defendant bail.
The judge postponed the case until January 8, 2024, for further consideration and directed that the accused be placed under remand in a penitentiary facility.
