Inside story of Kano man, woman found dead in car

The day they first met is the day they died: Abubakar and Ummulkhair, whose dead bodies were found in a car in Kundila, Maiduguri Road in Kano City, are friends who met while chatting on the popular Blackberry smart-phone’s network. Ten days after, the cause of their death remains a mystery even as the police […]

The day they first met is the day they died: Abubakar and Ummulkhair, whose dead bodies were found in a car in Kundila, Maiduguri Road in Kano City, are friends who met while chatting on the popular Blackberry smart-phone’s network. Ten days after, the cause of their death remains a mystery even as the police have made some arrests, totaling four so far. They were said to have eaten dinner together at a restaurant along Zoo Road after which they went to Kundila Housing Estate to visit some of Ummulkhair’s female friends. When they were discovered, dead, in the car at night, concerned residents were reluctant to go near the car, being afraid explosives, considering the fragile security situation in the state.

When the police were informed and when they finally came and opened the car, the corpses of Abubakar and Ummulkhair were found almost decomposing. They were taken to Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital and an autopsy was conducted. Efforts by Weekly Trust to obtain a copy of the autopsy yielded no result as it has not been released yet, as disclosed by the Police Public Relations Officer, ASP Magaji Musa Majia. But it was gathered that the friends might’ve died as a result of eating poisoned food, as some leftover snacks were found in the car.

Late Abubakar, popularly known as Baffa, is a resident of Kundila and a student of Sa’adatu Rimi College of Education, as revealed by his elder brother, Ahmad Maduwa. Maduwa is the owner of the car in which the dead bodies were found and he told Weekly Trust that he handed his car keys to his younger brother around 9:00pm so he could take it to the mechanic’s garage the next day. He said his brother did not complain of any sickness when they met and he did not hear from or about him until the next day when he was called by a friend, informing him about the discovery. “A friend called me saying he saw my car around Kundila, Maiduguri Road, surrounded by police and that was when I knew something was wrong,” he said.

Explaining further, another relative of late Abubakar’s said the deceased normally goes to bed early and that was why they could not realize that he was not in his room that time. The family member intimated Weekly Trust that although the result of the autopsy carried out on the corpses has not been revealed yet, there is a strong suspicion that it could be poison.

Yusuf Abba, late Abubakar’s friend, told Weekly Trust that the two friends are not “lovers” as widely reported,” he said. “They were just friends, chatting over the Blackberry network. “Abubakar once told me about her and I’m sure they had never met until that fateful day. He even called me that night around 10:00pm telling me that they were together and were heading to a restaurant along Zoo Road for dinner.”

Ummulkhair, on the other hand, is a resident of Fagge Quarters in Fagge Local Government Area of the state. A secondary school graduate, Ummulkhair had the ambition of furthering her education in ABU, Zaria. Describing how they received the news of her death, her brother Ahmad Abubakar said it was her mother who first called to inform him that she had received a phone call telling her that Ummulkhair had an accident and was taken to Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital. He narrated: “We rushed to the hospital, only to be told she was not there, so we rushed back to Murtala Muhammad Specialist Hospital and still she was not there. Finally, the mother called to say she was informed that Ummulkhair was dead and that her corpse was at Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital. We went back to the hospital but they could not release the corpse to us until the next day.”

But the intrigues began to pile up, as Weekly Trust learnt that when the corpses were taken to the hospital, a lady claiming to be a friend to Ummulkhair, came and was asking about the deceased’s handbag. When it was given to her, she rummaged through, checked the items inside and declared that before her death, Ummulkhair had about N250,000 and two Blackberry smart-phones. Hospital authorities alerted the police who came and arrested the woman, our source revealed, adding that the ‘mystery’ woman appeared to be groggy from drug use. But family members insist their deceased members have no dealings with any kind of ‘unsavoury’ characters.

When Weekly Trust spoke to Malam Abubakar, Ummulkhair’s father, he said he last saw his daughter at a wedding ceremony of a relative in Madobi a few days to her death. “Because her mother and I are separated, Ummulkhair normally shuttles between my house and her mother’s,” he said, adding that he did not hear about her death on time. “I assumed she was at her mother’s.” He said his late daughter has no relatives in Abuja as reported in the media.

Malam Abubakar tearfully told Weekly Trust that anytime he says his prayers, he begs God to forgive them both, adding that he has hung the clothes she died wearing in his room to remember her by. When contacted, ASP Magaji Musa Majia confirmed the story and said so far two women and two men have been arrested in connection to the case and the police are still investigating the case.