A 42-year-old man, Muhammad Sambo, has allegedly murdered his wife, Fadimatu Sambo, in Adamawa State.
Sambo reportedly murdered the woman and planned a secret burial before he was discovered and arrested by the police.
The incident, according to the police, happened late last year in Belel under Maiha Local Government Area of the state.
The suspect was on Friday arraigned in Yola, the state capital, and remanded in prison custody by Chief Magistrate Mohammed Abdullahi Digil.
When the First Information Report was read to him, Sambo pleaded not guilty to the charge of culpable homicide, which is contrary to Section 191 of the Penal Code Law.
The prosecutor, Seargent Ahmed Abubakar, had informed the court that Sambo violently attacked his wife and secretly invited some women to prepare her dead body for burial.
The FIR seen by SaharaReporters reads in parts, “It was one Jauro Sale of Sorau Belel who reported the heinous crime to the police on the same date by 7:00pm, where he briefed the police on the incident.
“Jauro Saleh told the police that late Fadimatu was found lying uncounscious in her bedroom with her head in a pool of blood with marks of violent attacks on the head and entire body.
“He narrated to the police that when the victim was rushed to a hospital for medical attention, she was certified dead by a medical doctor. Investigation led to the arrest of the husband.”
However, Sambo denied killing his wife, insisting that he was at Pasiyo Market, a border town in Cameroon, when the incident happened.
He further explained that one Abdullahi Mamsa informed him about the death of his wife when he returned from Cameroon by 4:00pm that fateful day.
However, members of the community suspected foul play when Sambo made frantic efforts to conduct secret burial for his wife, the police said.
The presiding magistrate ordered that the defendant be remanded in prison custody and adjourned the case until February 16, 2022.
If convicted for the offence, Sambo faces capital punishment.
