By Awwal Umar Kontagora Chief Magistrate Ummulkhatum Mohammed of the Minna Chief Magistrate Court No. 1 has ordered the remand of 24-year-ol...
By Awwal Umar Kontagora
Chief Magistrate Ummulkhatum Mohammed of the Minna Chief Magistrate Court No. 1 has ordered the remand of 24-year-old Muzanmil Abubakar, who is accused of killing his biological father.
Operatives from the Homicide Squad of the State Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department (SCIID) under the Niger State Police Command arrested Muzanmil and arraigned him before the Minna Chief Magistrate Court No. 1. He is facing a charge of culpable homicide, punishable under Section 221 of the Penal Code, which carries the death penalty upon conviction.
According to the Police First Information Report (FIR) marked MN/CR/45/2024, on June 29, 2024, Abubakar Abdullahi of Sauka Kahuta, Minna, reported the incident to the Kpakungu Divisional Police Command. The FIR states that on June 28, 2024, at about 12 noon, Muzanmil Abubakar, who was left alone at home with his father, Abubakar Adawa, could not satisfactorily account for his father’s whereabouts when asked. Despite a thorough search, Adawa’s location remained unknown.
Police detectives launched an investigation, leading to the discovery of a shallow grave. Upon excavation, the mutilated body of Adawa was found, with his legs and hands severed. Muzanmil confessed to having administered rat poison in his father's food, causing him to weaken. He then allegedly struck his father on the head with a hoe, killing him, and subsequently dismembered the body with a sharp knife to facilitate burial.
Further investigations revealed that Muzanmil committed the heinous act due to multiple instances in which his father reported him to a vigilante group for punishment. Muzanmil is thus suspected of having committed the offence as charged.
When the charge was read to him by Chief Magistrate Ummulkhatum Mohammed, Muzanmil pleaded not guilty. However, Police Prosecutor Inspector Bello Mohammed Beji informed the court that the case file would be forwarded to the Ministry of Justice for legal advice. He requested that the defendant be remanded in custody pending the outcome of the Ministry's review.
Chief Magistrate Mohammed instructed the prosecutor to expedite the submission of the case file to the Ministry of Justice and ordered the defendant's remand. The case was adjourned to September 18, 2024, for further mention.
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