A Kano State High Court on Monday sentenced two men to death by hanging for killing a lecturer at the Northwest University, Kano, Buhari Imam, during a robbery incident in 2016.

Justice Fatima Adamu convicted the defendants, AliyuHussaini of ShekaSabuwar Abuja Quarters and Amir Zakariyya of UnguwarMalam Quarters, Kumbotso Local Government Area, on three counts of conspiracy, armed robbery and culpable homicide.

According to the judge the action of “the defendants shows total disregard for human life,”

Justice Adamu while delivering his judgment ruled that “I hereby sentence the defendants to five years’ imprisonment each for conspiracy, 10 years’ imprisonment each for robbery without an option of fine, and death by hanging for culpable homicide. May God have mercy on them.”

Lamido Abba-Sorondinki, the prosecution counsel, had told the court that the men committed the offences on June 11, 2016, when they conspired, armed themselves with knives and machetes, and attacked Imam at his residence in ShekaSabuwar Abuja Quarters.

“The convicts robbed the victim of his mobile phone and fatally stabbed him in the stomach, thigh and back,” he said.

He presented three witnesses, along with medical reports and photographs of the deceased, to establish his case.

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

HarunaSaleh-Zakariyya defence counsel had pleaded for leniency before sentencing.

The defendants denied the charges but were found guilty after the court ruled that the prosecution had proven its case beyond reasonable doubt.