Justice For Bridget Agbahime : Police arraign 5 suspects

 

The gruesome murder of Bridget Agbahime by a mob at Kano’s Kofar Wambai Market sparked national outrage with many Nigerians asking that justice be done.

On Friday, June 10, five suspects were arraigned before a court in Kano over the killing of the market woman on allegation of blasphemy. According to the police, Mrs Agbahime was accused of blaspheming the Prophet Mohammed of Islam before being clubbed to death. The suspects (Dauda Ahmad, Abdullahi Mustapha, Zubairu Abubakar, Abdullahi Abubakar and Musa Abdullahi) were arraigned before Chief Magistrate Court on a four-count charge, Premium Times reports. They were charged with incitement, culpable homicide and mischief, while the prime suspect, Dauda Ahmad, was accused of leading others to attack and hack the victim to death. If found guilty, Ahmad could face the death penalty.

During the hearing, Dauda Jibrin, the prosecutor, said that on June 2, at about 4pm, Ahmad went and held the hands of Mrs. Agbahime. He slapped her on the face before shouting Allahu Akbar with the intent to cause religious upheaval. Two other suspects, Abdullahi Mustapha and Zubairu Abubakar, joined him, while others at large, including Salawiyu, Ibrahim, Dini, Isiyaku Mada, Mallam Sani and Yunusa Sufi, also accompanied them to Mrs. Agbahime’s shop located on the first floor. They beat the woman with sticks causing serious injuries that led to her death. Two of the suspects pleaded not guilty to the four charges, while Mustapha and Abubakar said they were not even at the scene of the incident. The case has been adjoined to June 28 to allow police complete the ongoing investigations.

 

Naij