The scene of crime was the room of the District Head of Lere Mallam Abubakar Bawa in the little village of Tafawa Balewa in Bauchi State. The time was 1.30 in the early hours of the morning of the 19th day of September, 1977 when with a view to having a quiet, restful and undisturbed sleep the district head, at her request, permitted his second wife P.W.1 Memu Abubakar Bawa, to leave his room for her room where her grand child who was crying needed attention. After her exit (she only shut the door but did not lock the door) he fell asleep and seizing the opportunity, his assailants moved into his room unnoticed after scaling the compound wall to gain entrance to the compound and slew him with a sharp machete with such skill that no one in the compound knew of their entry and attack till dawn. On completion of their task, they escaped scaling the wall to another end. At dawn when P.W.1 called to pay her morning respect and see that he did not miss his morning prayers, she found him unreceptive and moving closer, found him stone dead in a pool of blood on the bed. The police were called and they immediately swung into action. It was a difficult task as there were no eye witnesses.

Police investigation ultimately led to the arrest and arraignment of the two appellants who made confessional statements of complicity in the conspiracy and commission of the crime together with two others (Lance Corporal Gambo Yarda and John Kyauta who were acquitted by the Federal Court of Appeal) before the High Court (Barreto, J) at Bauchi for trial on two heads of charges Barreto, J gave a considered judgment convicting all the 4 accused persons of the offence charged in court 1 and the two appellants of the offence charged in count 2. Their appeal to the Federal Court of Appeal against their conviction on count 1 was successful but the appeal of the two appellants against their conviction on count 2 was dismissed. Still aggrieved, the two appellants have come to the Supreme court.