The Zamfara State Police Command has arraigned a suspected cannibal, Aminu Baba; a fake lawyer, Chukwuka Jude and four others before a Chief Magistrates Court in Gusau, the State capital, for prosecution.
While 57-year-old Baba was arrested on January 4 for eating and selling human parts in Gusau, Jude was nabbed on January 18 following a complaint received from the Nigerian Bar Association, (NBA), in the State.
Jude was said to have paraded himself as a lawyer at the Higher Sharia’h court, Tudun-Wada, in the Gusau metropolis. According to the Police, he was arrested with a fake plastic identity card, a stamp, a letterhead marked, “J. N Monyei and Co. Chamber”.
When the charges were read to him, the suspected fake lawyer, Chukwuka Jude, pleaded ‘guilty’ and asked the court to show mercy by considering the option of a fine on him. He cried out that remanding him to a correctional facility will put his family under serious difficulties as he is the only breadwinner.
The 46-yr-old suspect claimed that he had lost everything, including his business to two fire incidents. He told the court that he has seven children, consisting of four minors and three unemployed adults, stating that they can’t support the family to survive the hardship it is facing.
In his ruling, the presiding judge, Justice Saadu Garba, sentenced the accused Jude to 6 months imprisonment on the first-count charge, with the option of a fine of N50,000, and one-year imprisonment without the option of a fine.
Meanwhile, the other five suspects were arraigned by the Police on three-count charges bordering on criminal conspiracy, culpable homicide and cannibalism offences, which are contrary to sections 97, 222 and 218 of the Penal Code Law.
Justice Garba directed that the second and third defendants, Abdullahi Buba and Ahmed Tukur, who are below 18 years, be remanded in a remand home while AbdulShakur Tukur, Aminu Baba and Nura Usman were remanded to correctional centre.
The matter has been adjourned to February 8, pending the conclusion of the Police investigation.
The family members of the 10-year-old Ahmad Yakubu, who was allegedly killed by the cannibal, protested at the court premises, demanding justice for their late son.
