Central Bank of Nigeria manager jailed for killing a witch

An FCT High Court sitting in Maitama on Thursday sentenced a manager with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN),

Tanko Abubakar, and his friend Jika Shehu, to 30 years imprisonment each for murder.

The prosecutor, Mr Ekon Aniekong, had earlier told the court that Abubakar, his wife, and friend Shehu had beaten Dankaka to death over allegation that she was a witch. The deceased, who resides in Kaduna, met her death in Abuja when she went to deliver a message to one Hajia Hawa Ishaq, a staff of the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), who was a friend to Abubakar’s wife. Aniekong explained that Dankaka met Ishaq at Abubakar’s residence, where she delivered the message. The prosecutor explained that while there, Fatima requested the deceased to accompany her to Apo market to get some furniture. According to the prosecutor, while they were all at the market, Fatima’s baby began to cry and when it became persistent, she accused Dankaka of bewitching the baby. When they got back home and the baby was still crying, Fatima called Dankaka into another room where she flogged her, demanding that she must confess to being a witch, he added. The prosecutor said that Fatima also called two of her housemaids who joined in beating the deceased until she lost consciousness. According to the prosecutor, Fatima later called her husband, who in turn invited Shehu and joined in the beating, using horsewhip, until Dankaka died. Aniekong further told the court that Abubakar and his wife threatened to kill Ishaq, who witnessed the killing of Dankaka, if she ever revealed it to anyone. The prosecutor said that this made the woman to lie to Dankaka’s family, that she died after she was hit by a car along Kubwa expressway, Abuja. According to the prosecutor, Ishaq later took the deceased’s body to a hospital where she was certified dead. Aniekong, however, said that family members of the deceased carried out an investigation at the road safety office in the area to confirm if Dankaka died through traffic accident, but were told no such accident was recorded. Aniekong said it was after the police were invited that Ishaq told the family the circumstances through which Dankaka died, prompting the Ministry of Justice to prosecute the case. (NAN)