President Muhammadu Buhari has urged the appropriate authorities to ensure that justice is done in the case of Hanifa Abubakar, a five-year-old schoolgirl who was murdered in Kano State.
He expressly instructed the police and the Ministry of Justice to maintain the integrity of the detective work that uncovered the case by properly preparing and presenting a case that will gain the court’s respect.
In response to the death of little Hanifa, who was taken in December of last year, the President issued the command on Friday through his media adviser, Garba Shehu.
He expressed the nation’s condolences to the family of the schoolgirl whose body was discovered in a shallow grave in Kano after almost two months of fruitless search.
President Buhari, however, commended the police and the secret service for unravelling the mystery behind the disappearance of Hanifa, and particularly for the arrest of her teacher and his accomplices suspected of the child’s kidnap and murder.
According to him, the family and the whole nation which followed up on Hanifa’s travail every day since her disappearance were hoping for the girl to have returned home alive and well.
The President stated that the thorough and painstaking detective operation by the law enforcement bodies, leading to the discovery of her remains and the arrest of the suspects who have already made confessions, was commendable.
He described it as an achievement that should instill more public confidence in the authorities, adding, “when breakthroughs like this happen, people will talk differently of law enforcement.”
President Buhari prayed for the repose of the soul of the little schoolgirl and urged her parents to bear the sad loss with courage and fortitude in God.
Until her death, Hanifa was a pupil of a private school – Noble Kids Academy in Nassarawa Local Government Area of Kano State.
The Public Relations Officer in the state, Haruna Kiyawa, confirmed her death to journalists on Friday, saying her teacher, one Abdulmalik Tanko, was indicted in the murder.
Abdulmalik, Kiyawa stated, confessed that he kidnapped Hanifa and took her to his house where he contacted her relatives and demanded a ransom of N6 million.
He later conspired with one Hashim Isyaku to kill the girl on December 18, 2021, having realised that the victim had recognised him.
Hanifa was buried in a shallow grave within the school premises located at Kwanar ‘Yan Gana in Tudun Murtala Quarters.
Ojelabi, the publisher of Freelanews, is an award winning and professionally trained mass communicator, who writes ruthlessly about pop culture, religion, politics and entertainment.
