A Kano State High Court, north-western region, on Tuesday, March 26, sentenced a Chinese man, Geng Quandong, to death by hanging for killing his girlfriend Ummulkusum Sani Buhari, better known as Ummita. 

Justice Sanusi Ado Ma’aji of Kano state high court sitting at Miller road, Bompai, convicted Quandong and gave him the capital punishment.

Geng had invaded the family residence of 23-year-old corps member Ummita on September 16, 2022, and stabbed her to death during an argument.

Geng then fled the scene but was subsequently arrested by the police and arraigned.

The mother of the deceased revealed that the Chinese national first pushed her down when she opened the door for him after he had banged on it several times. She then rushed to her daughter’s room where Geng stabbed her to death.

During cross examination in court, Geng said Ummita broke his heart by getting married to another person even though he had plans of settling down with her.

Geng said he already spent so much in preparation for their wedding. He added that bought her wedding dresses worth N1.5 million and other dresses they would wear on their wedding day and ‘Asoebi’ for her friends and N700,000 new notes for spraying on the wedding day.

He said Ummita deceived him and got married to another person but continued to request money from him and there was a time she came to Kano, and she made sure that they met.

He had said, “Besides huge amounts of money I used to spend on her, I used to take her out to places like Bristol Palace and Central Hotel to eat food.

“I bought her house worth N4 million, a car worth N10 million. N18 million as capital to start business, and spent N500,000 worth of bags and shoes on her new shop and N1 million worth of laces and wrappers and a house in Abuja which she started building.”

He added that he bought her gold worth N5 million and gave her N6 million to process her certificate at Sokoto University and N1 million to install the solar system in their house.

On Tuesday,  March 26, 2024, after the prosecution proved beyond reasonable doubt that the Chinese national committed the murder, the court ruled that Quandong, 47, was found guilty of the offence of culpable homicide punishable with death under Section 221 of the Penal Code Law of Kano State and convicted accordingly.