Zainab Abioye
The prime suspect in the killing of a Kano woman and her six children has told the Kano State High Court that he carried out the gruesome attack on the instruction of a herbalist.
The suspect, Umar Auwalu, 23, made the confession on Wednesday while opening his defence before Justice Nasiru Saminu of High Court No. 11.
Auwalu admitted killing his uncle’s daughter, Fatima Abubakar, and her six children, claiming he acted after a traditional healer identified simply as Thomas allegedly directed him to commit the crime.
According to the defendant, the herbalist gave him incense and instructed him to continue carrying out similar killings, alleging that he had committed related crimes in the past.
The suspect also denied implicating his two co-defendants, Isyaku Yakubu Chobe and Yakubu Dayyabu, in the murders, insisting that he mentioned their names only after he was allegedly tortured by the police during interrogation.
He told the court that the two men had no involvement in the killings.
During Wednesday’s proceedings, the prosecution team, led by Safiya Yalwati and Zaharaddeen Hamisu Kofar Mata, presented evidence through police investigator, Corporal Aliyu Jamilu, while the defence also called its witnesses.
Justice Saminu subsequently adjourned the case until July 21 for the continuation of the trial.
The killings, which occurred on January 17, 2026, threw residents of Dorayi Chiranci in Kano into mourning after Fatima Abubakar and her six children were found brutally murdered inside their home.
Following investigations, police arrested Auwalu, a nephew of the deceased, alongside Chobe and Dayyabu.
The three suspects were first arraigned before Magistrates’ Court No. 2, Nomansland, on February 5, 2026, on an eight-count charge bordering on conspiracy, culpable homicide, robbery and rape.
After a review by the Directorate of Public Prosecutions, the matter was transferred to the High Court in April, where the defendants were re-arraigned on a nine-count charge.
While Auwalu admitted parts of the allegations against him during the proceedings, his two co-defendants pleaded not guilty and are contesting the charges.
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