NIGERIA. ISLAMIC COURT SENTENCES TWO TO HANG FOR MURDER, SEXUAL ABUSE

November 10, 2005: a Nigerian Islamic Sharia court sentenced two men to death by hanging for killing and sexually abusing a three-year old girl. Sharia judge Ibrahim Isah Rabo of Upper Sharia court in Yankaba district in the city of Kano ordered that Aminu Iliyasu, 21, and Shu'aibu Yusuf, 28, be hanged by the neck in accordance with the strict sharia legal system the state reintroduced five years ago.
"Based on the evidences before this court which include testimonies of four witnesses and an autopsy report which confirmed that three-year-old Zainab Abdulhamid died from suffocation and sexual abuse, I hereby sentence you to death by hanging", Rabo said. "This judgement conforms with sections 121 and 142 of the Kano State Sharia law 2000 which provide for death by hanging for murder," Rabo said amidst shouts of 'Allahu Akbar' (God is great) from the public gallery.
Iliyasu and Yusuf had been arraigned before the court in April 2005 for rape and murder of the girl who was their neighbour, but the rape charge was later dropped by the prosecution. With this ruling, the duo became the first to be condemned to death by a sharia court in Kano since the state began implementing the strict Sharia code. Thirteen people had been sentenced to amputation for theft, but none has been executed in Kano.
After the conviction, the defendants pleaded for leniency.
"We plead with the court to show leniency and give us a lesser punishment. I prefer amputation to death penalty", Iliyasu told the court, his eyes filled with tears. (Sources: Agence France Presse, 10//11/2005)