A State High Court sitting in Katsina has sentenced two former domestic staff to death by hanging for the murder of the former Katsina State Commissioner for Science and Technology, Rabe Nasir.
The convicts, Shamsu Lawal, a security guard and Tasi’u Rabi’u, the cook, were found guilty and sentenced four years after committing the crime in 2021.
Presiding over the case on Thursday, Justice Ibrahim Mashi ruled that Lawal and Rabi’u were guilty of poisoning the commissioner after a failed attempt to rob him.
During the hearing, the court was told that the two conspired to carry out the crime at Nasir’s private residence in Katsina.
Autopsy reports presented during the trial confirmed the presence of poison in the late commissioner’s body, supporting the prosecution’s case.
A third suspect, Sani Sa’adu, another security guard, was sentenced to five years in prison for withholding information about the murder.
Meanwhile, a female defendant, Gift Bako, was discharged and acquitted due to lack of evidence.
Defence counsel Ahmad Kankia appealed for leniency on behalf of the convicted men, citing their family responsibilities.
However, the court stood by its ruling, rejecting the plea for leniency and ordering the immediate remand of the convicted men in custody to await the formal execution of their sentence.
Nasir, a former member of the House of Representatives and officer of the Department of State Services (DSS), served as Commissioner during the administration of former Governor Aminu Bello Masari.
