The Kano State High Court has convicted a housewife, Fadila Adamu, and sentenced her to death by hanging for killing an eight-year-old girl.

Fadila, a resident of Sabuwar Gandu Quarters, was earlier arrested and convicted for culpable homicide for kidnapping the teenager and subsequently throwing her into a well, leading to her cruel death.

Justice Yusuf Muhammad-Ubale ruled that the prosecution had proven its case beyond a reasonable doubt, therebynecessitating the defendant’s capital punishment.

“I hereby sentence the defendant to death by hanging for kidnapping and throwing the victim into a well, which caused her death,” he ruled.

Earlier, the prosecution counsel, Lamido Abba-Sorondinki, told the court that the defendant committed the offence on July 14, 2019, at Tudun Wada Quarters, Kano.

“The defendant told her sister that the deceased was the daughter of her friend, whose mother had travelled to Ghana, and asked her to keep the child until she returned.

“On July 17, 2019, at about 6:30 p.m., the defendant caused the death of the minor when she threw her into a deep well situated in the Tukuntawa Quarters, Kano,” he said.

Abba-Sorondinki presented seven witnesses, including the defendant’s statements and a medical report confirming the victim’s death. The prosecution said that the offence contravened Sections 274(b) and 221(a) of the Penal Code.

The defendant denied committing the offence.

The defense counsel, Zulaihat Tata, presented four witnesses, including the defendant, to testify in her defense.