The Katsina State High Court 9, sitting in Katsina Town, on Wednesday, sentenced two men to death for the murder of the former state Commissioner for Science and Technology, Rabe Nasir, in 2021.
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The court, presided over by Justice Ibrahim Mashi, confirmed that the culprits, Shamsu Lawal, the former guard of the deceased, and Tasi’u Rabi’u, who worked as a cook in the deceased’s house, poisoned him, leading to his death.
Report has it that the convicts carried out the act after they failed to steal from the deceased and they resorted to poisoning him.
A joint investigation into the autopsy was carried out by the hospital and police, confirmed poison in the deceased’s body.
The court also sentenced another former guard of the deceased, Sani Sa’adu, to five years in prison for concealing the truth about the murder. On the other hand, the court acquitted a lady named Gift Bako due to a lack of sufficient evidence linking her to the crime.
However, her lawyer, Shedrack, welcomed the court’s verdict, saying, “It was based on truth”. Lawyers from all sides expressed satisfaction with the trial process and the verdict noting it was in line with the law and that justice was served.
On the other hand, however, the lawyer for the convicts, Ahmad Murtala Kankia, pleaded for leniency, emphasising that “the convicts have families and dependents.”
Immediately after the verdict, the convicts were visibly shaken when security officials took them away to prison.
Our correspondent also observed visible joy and relief on the faces of Gift Bako’s family and lawyers after her acquittal.
The late Rabe Nasir served as the Commissioner for Science and Technology in Katsina State during the administration of former Governor Aminu Bello Masari.
The deceased was also a former federal legislator who represented Mani and Bindawa Local Government Areas in 2003 and had previously worked as an officer in the Department of State Service.
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