Kano man to die by stoning for rape

A court in Kano has sentenced a 62-year-old man to death by stoning for raping a 12-year-old girl.

Ubale Saidu, who is HIV-positive, was sentenced by an Upper Sharia Court following his confession to raping a girl of Dosa Village in Kumbotso, a suburb of Kano, after inducement.

The court was told that medical examination indicated that the girl, a primary 6 pupil, has been infected with the HIV virus as a result of the rape.

Ubale, who revealed living with HIV for 2 years, said he lost his first and second wives to the virus in 2011.

Delivering the judgement, Judge Faruq Ahmed sentenced Ubale to death by stoning in line with Islamic laws, and ordered that a sum of N36 million be paid as compensation to the parents of the girl in case she died of the disease.

When contacted last night, Kano Commissioner of Justice Maliki Kuliya said the man was convicted in line with the Sharia law.

“He was tried by the Sharia court and the law in Sharia is that if a married man commits adultery he will be sentenced to death by stoning and that was what the judge did. The accused made the trial easier by confessing to the offence,” he said.

He, however, said the convict has the right to appeal the judgement.