When the 3-year old Zainab Tanimu Ayuba was heartlessly murdered nine months ago, the former Chairman of Gwaram Local Government, Alhaji Auwalu Sule Kila and three other persons: Abubakar Abdullahi, Kassim Ibrahim and Husaini Umar, were accused of the crime. The four were arrested and charged to court for murder.
While Abubakar Abdullahi was identified as the first accused, Kassim Ibrahim, Husaini Umar and Auwalu Sule Kila (the former chairman of Gwaram local government) stood as the second, third and forth accused persons in the case. They were first charged to a Magistrate’s Court in Dutse, the capital of Jigawa state before the case was transferred to a High Court sitting in Ringim.
However, the case took dramatic turn at last Wednesday’s sitting of the court when the first accused person, Abubakar Abdullhi told the court that it was the current Chairman of Gwaram local government, Alhaji Bala Sule Kila, not the former chairman, Alhaji Auwalu Sule Kila, who instructed him to kill the toddler. He told the court that it was on Friday that Bala Sule Kila invited eight of them including Tijjani Yagalala, Garba August, Alhaji Salisu Sule, Yahai, Isyaku Rasha, Gajarga and one Sale Sule to an eid praying ground of Gwaram local government where they all sat under a mango tree to hear Bala Sule Kila direct them to bring human skull to him.
After the instruction, the chairman also provided a vehicle containing clubs and handed them over to Tijjani Yagalala, he told the court, adding that, “from there we went to a nearby village called Chiyako and mounted a road block with intention of killing passersby that might come to our way. He sent us for this mission eight times before, each time without success”.
But on the 23, November 2009, he continued, Bala Sule Kila accompanied by Sale Sule, went to Tazara, a village where Sule resides. He then asked Sule whether he could get human head for him, and Sule asked Bala Sule Kila whether the head of his wife’s daughter, Zainab could serve the purpose.
“After concluding their arrangement, they entered the room where I used to sleep. Bala Sule Kila then brought out N50 and gave it to Sale Sule. He asked to buy sweets with it, which he (Bala) shared among some children in Sule’s house. He gave them sweets and N20 each including the late Zainab Tanimu,” Abubakar told the court.
On November, 24, 2009, he further told the court, Sale Sule directed him (Abubakar) to bring Zainab to him. At that moment, he said the toddler, not aware of the terrible fate that awaited her, was playing with Rayyanu Sule’s son in the yard of the Sule’s house.
He further told the court that while they were inside the house trying to separate Zainab from Rayyanu, Tijjani Jagaba, who disguised himself to look like policeman wearing police uniform, Biyu Dakuli, Yahai and Isyaku Rasha were outside in a car, which they parked behind the house, waiting. Later Sule, lied to his wives Mashida and Hajara by telling them that he was going to the farm. He then asked Mashida to prepare a meal for him while Hajara was directed to go the farm ahead of him.
After he assigned these domestic responsibilities and unknown to both wives, Sule went back and hid himself in one of his wives’ rooms. It was in that room and in the presence of Abdullahi, Yahai, Biyu Dakuli, Sule that Gajarga strangled Zainab after been held by Abdulllahi while Sule beheaded her. He said his conscience had been troubling him since.
“I was happy that I was arrested; if not these three innocent people would have been cheated. The former Chairman of Gwaram, Alhaji Auwalu Sule Kila, Kassim Ibrahim and Husaini Umar are all innocent. I am the only person, who knew the real people that carried out the devilish act,” Ababakar told the court.
Abubakar further told the court that “those that accompanied me perform the operations are Yahai, Gajarga Tijjani Yagalala and other person popularly known as Kulli. These are the people that together we conspired and killed Zainab. But Auwalu Sule Kila, Kassim Ibrahim and Husaini Umar were not involved.”
“We took her little limp and now headless corpse and buried it at Digina village, close to Tazara. The head was carefully packed in a polythene bag by Gajarga. But instead of taking it to Alhaji Auwalu Sule Kila’s mother as directed by Alhaji Bala Sule Kila, Gajarga took it to Bala Sule Kila’s house and handed it to his wife”, he narrated to the court.
The self-confessed killer Abdullahi added the first accused person, relocated to Bukul in Bauch state for some days after the operation. He was later identified and arrested by the police and transferred to the Police Divisional Office in Gwaram local government, for further investigation.
Ending his Wednesday testimony, the first accused also told the court that the content of the written statement presented to the court by the police was not made by him. “No policeman recorded my statement while I was at Jigawa Police CID department, Dutse. Kassim Ibrahim, who was the second accused person, was compelled to repeat what I said at the CID department for the record, but not myself”.
At cross examination, the second accused person, Kassim Ibrahim, informed the court that, he was on his bed when he heard movement of people in the premises of his family house. When he came out to see things for himself what was going on, the present Chairman of the local government, Alhaji Bala Sule Kila, was there. Alhaji Bala Sule Kila slapped him and held his trouser from behind before he finally wriggled free and dragged him out of the house.
At the frontage of his family house, he added, two cars including one with official local government licence plate that he said belonged to Alhaji Bala Sule were parked outside and he was dragged into one of them. “In the car, I saw my senior brother Mustapha and together we were taken to Gwaram Police Division where we were beaten up by the policemen”.
He showed the judge marks on his body that he said were from the beating he suffered from the police at the CID Department, Jigawa state Police Command, Dutse.“I have never conspired with any of the accused persons to commit the offence that I am charged with”.
“But since I was accused for an offence which I did not commit and sworn with Holy Qur’an before telling the court all I knew about the matter, I want this honourable court to note that, I have taken my case to the Almighty God that whoever has hand in indicting me, may the Almighty God punish him accordingly,” Kassim told the court.
The Presiding Judge, Justice Ahmad Isa Gumel adjourned the case till 22nd July, 2010 for further hearing. Two other accused persons, including the former chairman, Alhaji Auwalu Sule Kila and Husaini Umar are expected to be cross-examined during the next sitting.