How I Murdered My 5-Year-Old Pupil With Rat Poison – Suspect Confesses
- Says ransom meant for school premises’ rent
- Hanifa’s distraught mother rains slap on suspect
- ‘Allah will fight for me’ – Bereaved father
- Gov Ganduje shuts school, vows justice
Thirty-year-old Abdulmalik Mohammed Tanko, the proprietor of late Hanifa Abubakar’s Noble Kids Academy, Kwanar Dakata in Nassarawa Local Government Area of Kano State, on Friday confessed to using N100 rat poison to kill her after collecting a ransom of N100,000 from the victim’s parents.
However, moments before Abdulmalik was paraded at the State Police Command headquarters in Kano, Hanifa’s distraught mother, Fatima Maina, had charged at the suspect, raining slaps on him for putting her in an unending sorrow.
On his part, Hanifa’s father, Abubakar Abdulsalam, was calm but tearful saying that the killers “have not been fair to me, neither have they been fair to the world.”
He expressed optimism that God “will fight for me.”
Narrating how the alleged murder was committed, the principal suspect said; “I picked her inside Keke NAPEP and I carried her to my own house where I lied to my wife that the girl was a daughter to one of the women working in my school and that the mother traveled and pleaded with us to keep the girl for some days. My wife accepted and kept the girl for that reason.
“I realised that the girl’s parents were informed that while picking her, she made mention of ‘uncle’. This gave me the impression that they might be suspecting me as the uncle.
“Then after some time, after some days, some of my teachers visited my house very early in the morning and when they came, I was also suspecting that they were sent over to the house to find out whether the girl was there with me. That was on the fifth day after the kidnap. So, I decided that it was better I found a way before I would be caught.
“I first thought of sending the girl to another state, but again, I thought the whole town was aware that she was missing. If the girl was going to be sent out through the main roads, we would be caught. That was when I conceived the idea of killing her.
“I picked her up at home. She was already sleeping because it was getting to 11 pm. I picked her up… I used to take tea always… I was drinking tea at that time, so I put the remaining tea in an empty container of BoBo yogurt, and then I poured in this rat killer poison inside and gave it to the girl, not in my own house.
“When we went to the other school when we were passing, I told her that I was taking her back to her uncle’s house. So as we were going, I gave her the drink on the road and she drank it and then we entered one branch of the school; the branches are two. We entered the other branch with her and I told her I was going to pick something inside. She entered and that was where she finally died.
“I bought the poison for N100. I buried her in the school. Let me clear this doubt: people are thinking that it has to do with rituals. This is not ritual. I buried her inside the school simply because I was not able to find any secure place to dig a hole.”
The Police paraded Tanko alongside one Hashim Isyaku described as his accomplice.
An uncle of the deceased, Suraj Sulaiman, said the principal suspect wept profusely when he visited Hanifa’s parents to console them following her disappearance in December.
Hanifa’s Mother Pounces On Suspect
Hanifa’s mother, Fatima Maina, could not hold back herself yesterday on sighting Abdulmalik Tanko at the Police Command Headquarters.
She and her husband, Abubakar Abdulsalam, had gone to the police headquarters in connection with the case. They had gotten there before the handcuffed suspects were brought in.
As soon as she saw them, Fatima charged at Tanko and began to rain slaps on him, demanding to know why he killed her daughter. However, she had to be stopped by the police personnel who immediately whisked the suspects away.
‘Allah ‘Will Fight For Me – Hanifa’s father
But Abubakar Abdulsalam, father of the slain girl, was restrained in his reaction. In a trending video posted by Daily Trust, Abdulsalam was seen saying that he was leaving the matter to Allah to handle.
In his words: “I’m really in sorrow for what happened. I can only thank Allah. This can happen to anyone and it is said that everyone who lives will die someday. So I leave everything to Allah.
“But till I die, I will never forget this. Those who did this to me have not been fair to me, nor have they been fair to the world. Allah will fight for me. I am also thanking the Nigerian security forces, especially those whose efforts found my murdered daughter. May Allah fight for our rights. I am sincerely grateful to you. I can’t thank you enough, only Allah can reward you.”
Demanding that the full length of justice prevail in the case, Abdulsalam appealed for “immediate prosecution” of the principal suspect (Tanko), saying in tears, “Please do not spare him, please I beg you in the name of Allah,” he told police officers who paraded the suspects.
Kano Government Shuts Down School
Reacting to the development, the Kano State Government on Friday ordered the immediate shutting down of the school with Education Commissioner Muhammad Kiru saying the government would “commence an investigation of unregistered private schools and teachers to check such criminal activities.”
Kiru, while announcing that Noble Kids Academy “has also been closed till further notice”, appealed to parents whose children attend the affected school to stop them for now, pending the completion of the investigation.
Ganduje Vows Justice For Late Hanifa
Meanwhile, in a separate statement on the incident, Kano State Governor Abdullahi Ganduje pledged to “meticulously monitor and ensure the prosecution of anyone found culpable” in the kidnap and murder of Hanifa Abubakar.
Speaking through the State Commissioner of Information, Mallam Muhammad Garba, the governor said the operational licence of the school has also been withdrawn forthwith, adding; “Government is terribly disturbed that people entrusted with the care of children only turn out to be their murderers.”
Governor Ganduje said the government had been in touch with the family of the child and would remain so until justice prevails in the case to serve as a deterrent to others.
He also praised security agencies in the state for their prompt action that led to the arrest of those allegedly involved in the criminal act, assuring the government would follow the case to its logical conclusion as the investigation continues.
Kano Police Give Case’s Update
The police had on Thursday, January 20, 2022, announced the arrest of the principal suspect who allegedly abducted the girl and killed her even after collecting N100,000 ransom. He had initially demanded N6 million as ransom.
According to the Police report, upon his arrest, Tanko, in confessing to the crime, led a combined team of operatives of the Department of State Service (DSS) and Operation Puff Adder to the shallow grave where he and his accomplice, Hashim Isyaku, buried the minor.
The body was exhumed and taken to the Mohammed Abdullahi Wase Specialist Hospital for examination before releasing it to the family for burial according to Islamic rites.
Kano Police Command spokesman, Abdullahi Haruna Kiyawa, stated thus; “On December 4, 2021, at about 2030hrs, we received a complaint from a resident of Dakata Quarters, Nassarawa Local Government Area of Kano State, that one Hanifa Abubakar, aged five (5) years, was kidnapped and a ransom of N6 million was demanded.
“On receipt of the report, the Commissioner of Police, Sama’ila Shu’aibu Dikko, met with heads of security agencies in the state, strategised for effective service delivery, and raised a team of Operation Puff Adder led by SP Shehu Dahiru to rescue the abductee and arrest the culprits.
“Sustained efforts led to the arrest of one Abdulmalik Mohammed Tanko, aged 30 years, of Tudun Murtala Quarters, Nassarwa, Kano State and one Hashim Isyaku, aged 37 years, of the same address.”
Kiyawa, who is a Superintendent of Police (SP), further said; “The suspects will be charged to court upon completion of the investigation.” – With The Nation reports
