Saturday, January 17, 2026, will forever be a dark milestone for the Chiranchi area of Dorayi, Kano. On that afternoon, a blood-chilling tragedy turned a peaceful weekend into a nightmare. The heinous murder of a mother and her six children has shattered a community once defined by its close-knit bonds and quiet routines. In the days since, Kano State has remained in a state of shock, the air heavy with unanswered questions. One neighbor, Malam Bala Abubakar, recalled the moment the peace was broken; he was preparing for his afternoon bath when frantic screams ripped through the air.
The plea was unmistakable: ‘Umar, please don’t kill me.’ Hearing the screams, Abubakar rushed from his home with only a towel around his waist, arriving in the narrow lane just as other neighbours poured out in a frantic search for the source of the horror.
“Some artisans, painting a new building adjacent to the home, where the horror took place, also heard the ear-splitting cries and rushed out. They alerted people that “something wrong is going on in that house.” The Ward head, Ahmad Ya’u Yahaya (Gidan Kwari), also rushed to the scene.
‘Together, we rallied to render help,’ an eyewitness said. Yet, the community’s quick response was too late to thwart the killers’ mission. What greeted them was a scene of absolute horror: a wide canvas of blood marking the site of the massacre.
Thirty-year-old Fatima Abubakar was found lifeless alongside her daughters, Maimuna (17) and Aisha (16), and her four sons: Bashir (13), Abubakar (10), Faruk (7), and infant Abdulsalam (1). Witnesses report the killers invaded the home at 12:10 PM, timing the attack shortly after the husband, Haruna Bashir, had left for the market.
“The attackers used a sewing machine head to smash and rip open the skulls of the victims. It was an unbelievably gory sight,” Abubakar told Newsmen.
However, as neighbours secured the house and summoned help, a police team directed by Commissioner Ibrahim Adamu Bakori arrived to comb the premises. The operation yielded its first breakthrough when a suspect was discovered hiding in a restroom, providing the lead needed to track the rest of the cell. Though the family was transported to the hospital, all seven were pronounced dead. The killers’ attempt at deception—disguising themselves as mourners during the funeral—ultimately failed. Unbeknownst to them, detectives had already identified the perpetrators and were waiting for the perfect moment to strike.
State Police Spokesman, SP Abdullahi Haruna Kiyawa, confirmed the arrests of Umar Auwalu (23), Isyaku Yakubu (40), and Yakubu Abdulaziz (21). The investigation reached a tragic peak with the confirmation that Auwalu is the nephew of the deceased mother, Fatima Abubakar, the very woman who pleaded for mercy before he allegedly took her life. As the suspects remain in custody, a cross-section of Kano residents is urging Governor Abba Yusuf to ensure the highest level of capital punishment upon conviction.
