Due to a lack of an interpreter, Kano High Court Number 17 at Miller Road has postponed the hearing of Chinese national Geng Quangrong, who is accused of killing his Nigerian lover, Ummukulsum Sani Buhari.
Ummukulsum, 23, was allegedly killed by Mr. Quandong, 47, in the Janbalu quarters for allegedly refusing to accept his hand in marriage.
The defense attorney, Muhammad Dan’azumi, informed the court at the resumed hearing on Tuesday, October 4, 2022, that the accused had not been given access to an interpreter.
Due to Mr. Quandong’s lack of legal counsel, the case, which was initially scheduled to start last week Monday, was postponed to Tuesday.
Mr. Quandong was initially charged by the police in Kano, Northwest Nigeria, on September 21 before a magistrates court at Zangeru Road in Kano.
Mr. Quandong spoke to the court in Chinese during the hearing, which made it challenging for the parties, including the magistrate, to understand what he was saying.
In the hopes of finding an interpreter to clarify the allegations to Mr. Quandong in Chinese, the Magistrate, Justice Sunusi Ado Ma’aji, postponed the case to October 27.
The case cannot be heard because the accused has a fundamental right to communication in a language he can understand, Kano state attorney general and commissioner of justice M. A. Lawan stated in a brief statement.
“The issue of interpreter was raised which is a constitutional issue and after the last adjournment, we wrote a letter to the Chinese embassy requesting for interpreter because we expected this to happen and I am sure they will do that. That s is why we adjourned the matter to at least three weeks. Ordinarily, it’s supposed to be a week.” he said.
