Police arraign self-confessed killer of five-year-old Hanifa

The Kano State police command has arraigned Abdulmalik Tanko, the self-confessed killer of Hanifa Abubakar, a five-year-old girl.

Abdullahi Haruna Kiyawa, spokesman for the Kano police command, said the suspect was arraigned before a magistrate’s court in Kano on Monday.
Tanko was paraded by the police after confessing to the murder of the girl. He is the proprietor of Noble Kids Comprehensive College — the school Hanifa attended.
According to the police, the suspect with two others is being charged with “criminal conspiracy, kidnapping and culpable homicide”.
Tanko had confessed to the murder while answering questions on his involvement in the crime.
He revealed that he killed Hanifa with “rat poison” and buried her body on the school premises with the help of a friend.
“I lied to Fatima and Isyaku that the girl’s mother was the one behind the plan to kidnap the girl to extort her father,” he had said.
“After Hashimu and Fatima failed to kidnap the girl, I decided to carry out the kidnapping myself. I kidnapped her when she was returning from Islamic school and took her to my family house.
“She stayed in my family house for about two weeks before I killed her. I killed her after some teachers in my school came to my house.
“I became suspicious. I thought they came to investigate me because they said the girl had once mentioned my name. It was after that visit that I gave her rat poison. I then contacted my friend and asked for his help to dig a hole where the girl would be buried.
“I demanded the sum of N6 million from the parents. I contacted them through the phone number her parents gave the school.”
A mob early Monday razed the school where the girl was said to have been buried. The school is located in Kwanar Dakata community in Nassarawa LGA of Kano state.
First Lady Aisha Buhari has said she is in support of public execution of the self-confessed killer.