The Court of Appeal has affirmed the death sentence handed down to Farida Abubakar for the murder of her former husband, Chief Magistrate Attahiru Muhammad-Ibrahim.
In a unanimous judgment delivered on Monday in appeal No. CA/S/75C/2025, a three-member panel led by Justice Tunde Awotoye dismissed Abubakar’s appeal and upheld the decision of the Kebbi State High Court delivered on June 3, 2024.
The court ruled that the appeal lacked merit, adding that the conviction and sentence imposed by the trial court were proper and supported by credible evidence.
Abubakar was prosecuted by the Kebbi State Government and represented by A. N. Salau, while the prosecution was led by Zainab Muhammad Jabbo of the Kebbi State Ministry of Justice.
During the trial, the prosecution called 12 witnesses and tendered several exhibits, including Abubakar’s extra-judicial statement and circumstantial evidence linking her to the crime.
In its judgment, the appellate court held that the prosecution proved its case beyond reasonable doubt and upheld the trial court’s reliance on the doctrine of “last seen,” describing it as adequately supported by the evidence before the court.
Although Abubakar’s extra-judicial statements were not deemed confessional, the court held that all the essential elements of the offences were established.
The Court of Appeal consequently affirmed her sentence to death by hanging under Section 191(b) of the Kebbi State Penal Code, as well as a seven-year imprisonment under Section 224(1) of the same law for causing grievous hurt.
Abubakar has since filed an appeal at the Supreme Court, seeking to overturn the judgment.
