The spirit of pretty Late Hafsat Fatima Aliyu, murdered by her co-wife in Minna, finally gets justice.
On Thursday, January 16, a Minna High Court in Niger State sentenced Amina Aliyu and her sister, Aishat Mohammed, to death by hanging, convicted for the brutal murder of Amina’s co-wife, Hafsat Fatima Aliyu.
The youngest sibling, Zainab, who also participated, received life imprisonment due to her age at the time of the crime.
The incident occurred in March 2021 at the family residence in Barkin Saleh, Minna, seven weeks after Hafsat married Alhaji Muhammad Sani.
According to the prosecution, Aishat attacked Hafsat with a pestle before setting her body on fire in the kitchen.
The trial began at Minna Chief Magistrate Court Number One before being transferred to the High Court.
During the proceedings, which spanned three years, four witnesses testified, including Sani, who recounted how Amina killed Hafsat.
Justice Balkisu Gambo Yusuf of Minna High Court 7 confirmed the prosecution had proven its case beyond doubt, stating, “The punishment for culpable homicide under Section 221 of the Penal Code is death,” she declared.
Background and Legal Proceedings
The Niger State Police Command arrested Amina Aliyu, who allegedly killed her co-wife. The newlywed, identified as Fatima Aliyu, was beaten to death with a pestle and her body set on fire by her husband’s first wife in Minna on March 23, 2021.
DSP Wasiu Abiodun, the Command’s spokesperson, confirmed the incident and the suspect’s arrest then,
Aliyu Abdullahi Dayi, the husband, narrated that he was not around when the incident happened but received a call about a fire outbreak. Upon arrival, he found his wife dead and reported the case to the Tundun Wada police station.
He even suggested that Amina might also be responsible for the death of the deceased two daughters in a mysterious fire incident in 2018.
The judge sentenced Amina and Aishat to death by hanging.
However, Justice Yusuf ruled that Zainab, being a minor at the time of the crime, could not face the death penalty under the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA). Zainab therefore received life imprisonment.
“As of 2021, when the offence was committed, the ACJA excluded anyone below 18 from facing the death penalty,” Justice Yusuf said.
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