Malik Yahya/
A Katsina State High Court has sentenced two domestic staff to death for the 2021 killing of Dr. Rabe Nasir, former Commissioner for Science and Technology.
Justice Ibrahim Mashi of High Court 9 handed the death sentences to Shamsu Lawal, Nasir’s former guard, and Tasi’u Rabi’u, his cook, after finding them guilty of poisoning the late commissioner at his Fatima Shema Housing Estate residence in Katsina.
The court held that evidence from the prosecution, including a joint police-hospital autopsy confirming Nasir was poisoned, proved their guilt beyond reasonable doubt.
According to court records, the duo poisoned Nasir after failed attempts to rob him, leading to his gruesome death in December 2021.
Another former guard, Sani Sa’adu, was sentenced to five years’ imprisonment for concealing information about the crime, while a female defendant, Gift Bako, was acquitted due to insufficient evidence linking her to the murder.
Defence counsel Ahmad Murtala Kankia pleaded for leniency, citing the convicts’ family responsibilities, but the court rejected the plea.
Nasir, a former House of Representatives member for Mani/Bindawa Federal Constituency and an ex-official in Nigeria’s security and anti-corruption agencies, was widely respected. His murder sent shockwaves through Katsina State and drew condemnation from national leaders.
The ruling brings an end to a high-profile case that gripped the state and delivers justice nearly four years after the killing.
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