Chinese businessman sentenced to death for killing Nigerian girl friend

A Nigerian court has sentenced a Chinese businessman, Frank Geng Quarong to death after being found guilty of murdering his girl friend, Ummu Kulthum Sani in 2022.

The killing of the 22-year-old undergraduate Agricultural University student shocked Nigerians and the case was closely followed. Quarong has 90 days to appeal against the verdict.

Speaking on behalf of the family, the victim’s brother, Sadiq Sani, described the sentence of death by hanging handed down by the court in Kano as justice. He said that whoever kills anyone deserved to be killed too.

“We thank God for showing us this day. I pray that my sister’s soul continues to rest in peace,” he said

Her family remember the young agriculture undergraduate as kind and jovial.

Quarong, 49, and Ms. Sani had been in a relationship since 2020 after having met in a shopping mall, according to her brother

He was in the country working for a Nigerian textiles firm.

Talking shortly after the killing in September 2022, family friend, Ahmad Abdullahi described what had happened.

He remembered coming to the family home and seeing that “a lot of people had gathered outside the house”.

“That was when we knew something bad had happened. Geng was her boyfriend and had good relations with her family prior to that day.

“Before the incident they were having issues as she was no longer interested and he didn’t want to let go.”

According to neighbours, on the night of the killing Quarong was heard knocking heavily on the gate to the Sani family home.

When Ms. Sani’s mother opened the gate he pushed her aside and rushed straight to her room, locking it from the inside.

Her shouts and cries attracted the family and before anyone could break down the door to help her, she had been stabbed several times and she died later in hospital