Undergraduate to die by hanging for killing friend
From TIMOTHY OLA, Maiduguri
Friday, October 22, 2010
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Photo: Sun News Publishing
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A Maiduguri High Court has sentenced an undergraduate, Ahmed Abatcha, to death by hanging for killing his friend, Bashir Alhaji Busami.
He was said to have stabbed his friend after which he ran over him with the deceased’s Mercedes Benz car.

Abatcha, who claimed to be a sociology student of the University of Maiduguri (UNIMAID), was arraigned on a two-count charge of culpable homicide and robbery punishable by death under section 221 and 298 of the Penal Code. He was said to have committed the offence on September 10, 2007.

The deceased father, who reported the matter at the G.R.A Police Station in Maiduguri, said his son, Busami travelled with his friend, Abatcha on the fateful day he met his untimely death in a very suspicious manner, adding that the family was troubled following Busami’s disappearance for six days. Subsequently, Abatcha was picked up by the police for questioning; an effort which the police claimed led into further investigation on the fate of Busami.

“But the police maintained that Abatcha could not give satisfactory explanation on the whereabouts of his friend when he was questioned. They said it was later discovered that he hit his friend, Busami on the head with spanner and cutlass after he had sedated him.” Wife of the deceased, Hadiza Bashir, also told the court during the trial that her late husband and his friend ate together. She said the two friends went out thereafter, noting that it was the last time she saw her husband. She added that Abatcha later came to their house without any satisfactory explanation on the where abouts of her husband.

Police also told the court that the wrist watch and shoes of the deceased were found with Abatcha at the time of his arrest. Also testifying, a witness, from Yobe State where the crime was reportedly committed, said he reported to the police when he saw a corpse in a farmland. The witness, a vice principal of a junior secondary school at DogonKuka village in Damagun Local Government Area of Yobe State, disclosed that he saw the corpse of the deceased on his way to his farm.

In his statement to the police, Abatcha admitted to have killed his friend. “I was heading towards Kano via Yobe and on my way to Potiskum town at a place called Damagun, Bashir woke up from the side effect of influence of the drug and I gave him water to drink but he could not. I then became guilty and in the state of confusion, I stopped.

“When Bashir opened the door of the vehicle and fell on the ground, he got up and started running into the bush, I followed him and stabbed him with a sharp knife I was holding in my hand and he removed the knife and wanted to attack me. He fell down and I quickly snatched the knife from him because he was weak. I then brought the car and ran over him.” He also confessed to be a member of a cult based in Lagos.

Delivering his judgment, Justice Pindar Haruna Ngadda said the prosecution had proved beyond reasonable doubt that Abatcha actually killed his friend Busami. She, therefore, sentenced him to death by hanging on the first count charge and life imprisonment on the second count charge.

Straight justice, An eye for an eye.