Government orders closure of school kidnappers buried abducted girl

… As Police arrest abductors who killed girl despite ransom payment

Abiodun OBA

A private school, Noble Kids Academy, at Kwanar Dakata, in the Nassarawa Local Government Area, Kano State, where the body of an abducted girl, Hanifa Abubakar, was buried by the suspects, has been closed down.

The Kano State Government ordered the immediate closure.

Recall, the deceased, a five-year-old girl was allegedly abducted in November 2021, at Kwanar Dakata in the metropolis by her teacher, Abdulmalik, who is a principal suspect in the crime, according to the police.

The State Commissioner for Education, Muhammad Kiru, announced the closure of the school in a statement after policemen discovered the corpse of the victim buried in the private school.

Kiru, who expressed sadness over the incident, said apart from the closure of the school, the state government would commence the investigation of unregistered private schools and teachers to check such criminal activities.

He appealed to parents whose children attend the private school to stop them from doing so pending the completion of the investigation.

The State Police Command had in a statement on Thursday confirmed the arrest of the abductors of the girl who demanded N6m ransom for her release before she was killed.

The Police Command Kano, had arrested 30-year-old Abdulmalik Mohammed and 37-year-old Hashim Isyaku in connection with the kidnap and killing of the abducted girl, Hanifa Abubakar, despite collecting ransom.

The police spokesman in the state, Abdullahi Kiyawa, on Thursday confirmed that the remains of the five-year-old girl were discovered in a shallow grave on private school premises in Nassarawa Local Government Area, Kano State.

After abducting Hanifa, the abductors took her to a hideout and contacted her relatives for N6 million ransom.

Kiyawa noted that the victim’s body was exhumed and rushed to Mohammed Abdullahi Wase Specialist Hospital Kano where she was examined and confirmed dead by a medical doctor.

Upon the completion of the investigation, the police said the case would be charged to court

Abubakar’s uncle, Suraj Suleiman, confirmed the killing and recovery of her remains at a private school in Tudunwada area of Kano. 

It was learnt that one of the abductors took the victim to his wife, but the wife refused to keep her.

The uncle said, “The kidnapper first took Hanifa to his wife, but the wife refused to keep her. He then took her to Tudunwada where he operates a private school and then laced her tea with rat poison.

“After she was poisoned to death, the kidnappers then cut her body into pieces and buried it within the school.”