A 30-year-old man, Umar Mohammed Kandahar, has been sentenced to death by stoning by a Upper Sharia court in Bauchi for impregnating his (unnamed) younger sister.
According to the Daily Independent, Umar was arraigned before the court in Unguwar Jaki by the Bauchi State Shari’ah Commission, where he was accused of the offence.
Dayyabu Ayuba, counsel to the the Shari’ah Commission, told the court that the accused person is married with three wives but forcibly had sex with his younger sister.
According to the counsel, the younger sister was brought to the home of the accused person in order to further her education but he forcibly had sex with her instead when she was only 16 years old and the young girl got pregnant as a result and had since delivered the baby.
This offence was held to be contrary to section 136(1) of the Bauchi State Penal code law 2001.
The accused pleaded guilty to the offence, but disagreed with the fact that he forced her to have sexual intercourse, rather, he maintained that she accepted to have a sex with him. The Shariah Court Judge, Musa Barde sentenced him to death by stoning.
The accused person has, following the death sentence, lodged an appeal against the judgment before the Bauchi State Sharia Court of Appeal, arguing that he did not agree with the judgment.
Counsel to Umar, Barrister Sadiq Abubakar, on Wednesday, filed a motion before Bauchi State High court number seven, asking for the bail of the accused, pending the determination of his appeal by the Sharia Court of appeal.
He told the court that the accused family suffered because of his detention since 2011 and asked the court to release him on bail, to ease the sufferings of his family.
The Presiding Judge, Justice Aliyu Baba Usman, has adjourned till Monday, November 25, 2013, for mention.
