Two men sentenced to death by Katsina court over ex-commisioner’s murder
By Anas Abbas
The Katsina State High Court has sentenced two individuals to death for the murder of Dr. Rabe Nasir, a former Commissioner for Science and Technology in the state.
The verdict was delivered by Justice Ibrahim Mashi at High Court 9 in Katsina.
The convicted men, Shamsu Lawal, who previously worked as a security guard for the late commissioner, and Tasi’u Rabi’u, his cook, were found guilty of poisoning Dr. Nasir in his residence at Fatima Shema Quarters in 2021. The prosecution revealed that the pair resorted to poisoning after their attempts to rob him had failed.
Evidence presented during the trial included a joint autopsy conducted by police and medical officials, which confirmed the presence of poison in Dr. Nasir’s body.
In addition to the death sentences, another former guard of the deceased, Sani Sa’adu, received a five-year prison term for withholding information regarding the murder. Meanwhile, a female suspect, Gift Bako, was acquitted due to insufficient evidence linking her to the crime.
The defense attorney for the convicted men, Ahmad Murtala Kankia, requested leniency from the court, highlighting that both men have families and dependents who rely on them.
Dr. Rabe Nasir was not only a former commissioner but also a retired anti-graft officer and had served as a federal legislator representing Mani and Bindawa local governments in 2003 during the administration of former Governor Aminu Masari.