Borno Housewife bags life sentence for killing husband

By Emmanuel Toma, Maiduguri

A Borno State High Court, sitting in Maiduguri, has sentenced a woman, Fatima Abubakar, to life imprisonment for killing her husband, Goni Abba, by poisoning his drinking water.

Justice A. B. Kumalia delivered the judgment on February 13, 2024, after finding the accused guilty of culpable homicide.

Fatima was charged with administering rat poison to her husband on October 19, 2022, after telling him it was a traditional remedy for rheumatism.

He became ill soon after consuming the substance and later died at the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital.

Although Fatima initially pleaded guilty during her arraignment, the court entered a not-guilty plea on her behalf because the charge carried a capital punishment.

During the trial, the prosecution called seven witnesses, including medical personnel who confirmed the cause of death.

The court also admitted Fatima’s confessional statements, in which she admitted buying the poison at Monday Market and deliberately mixing it into her husband’s water.

The judge held that the prosecution proved all three elements required for culpable homicide: that a death occurred, it was caused by the accused, and it was intentional.

Her attempt to rely on claims of being possessed by evil spirits was dismissed, as there was no medical evidence to support it.

Justice Kumalia convicted her under Section 224 of the Penal Code, noting that although the original charge under Section 221 attracted the death penalty, the conviction under Section 224 amounted to significant mitigation.

In her plea for mercy, Fatima said she was a mother of two and remorseful.

Her counsel also urged the court to consider that she was a first-time offender.

She was subsequently sentenced to life imprisonment.

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