A Kano High Court has sentenced two men, Aliyu Hussaini and Amir Zakariyya, to death by hanging for the murder of Buhari Imam, a lecturer at Northwest University, Kano.

Justice Fatima Adamu, who delivered the judgment on Monday, found the duo guilty on three counts — conspiracy, armed robbery, and culpable homicide.

“The action of the defendants shows total disregard for human life,” the judge said.

She thereafter sentenced each of them to five years’ imprisonment for conspiracy and ten years for robbery, without an option of fine, before declaring the death sentence by hanging for culpable homicide. “May God have mercy on them,” she added.

According to the prosecution counsel, Lamido Abba-Sorondinki, the incident occurred on June 11 at Sheka Sabuwar Abuja Quarters, Kano.

He told the court that the convicts armed themselves with long knives and machetes, invaded the lecturer’s residence around 3:30 a.m., robbed him of his mobile phone, and stabbed him multiple times in the stomach, thigh, and back, leading to his death.

The prosecution presented three witnesses, along with medical reports and photographs of the deceased, to support its case.

Although both convicts denied committing the crime, their counsel, Haruna Saleh-Zakariyya, pleaded for mercy.

The offences contravened Sections 97(1), 298(c), and 221(a) of the Penal Code Laws of Kano State.