Hanifa’s Teacher And Murderer, Accomplice, To Die By Hanging
A Kano State High Court sitting has convicted a school proprietor, Abdulmalik Tanko, to death by hanging for the kidnap and murdering of a five-year-old Hanifa Abubakar.
Nexus News recalls that Abdulmalik alongside his accomplice, Hashim and Musa, were arraigned before the Kano State High court on a five-count charge bordering on criminal conspiracy, kidnapping, confinement, and culpable homicide contrary to sections 97, 274, 277, 221 of the penal code.
Hanifa was on December 4, 2021, kidnapped on her way home from Islamiyya School and thereafter found to have been murdered.
Tanko earlier confessed to abducting and killing the victim with N100 rat poison before concealing her in a shallow grave in one of his schools. However, he retracted his confession, admitting only to kidnapping her.
The presiding Judge, Justice Usman Na’abba sentenced Isyaku Hashim, Abdulmalik’s accomplice to death by hanging for hiding and kidnapping of the five- year-old.
Fatima Jibril, the third defendant, was sentenced to two years for conspiracy and attempt.
Justice Na’abba started with the reading of the case details from date of arraignment to the final court sitting when he fixed the date for judgement.
At exactly 2:25pm, he declared his judgement as follows:
“The first defendant (Tanko) is hereby sentenced to death by hanging and additional 5 years for criminal conspiracy.
“The second defendant (Hashim) is hereby sentenced to death by hanging and two years for conspiracy and another three years for attempt to kidnap.
“The third defendant (Fatima Musa), being a mother, has been sentenced to one year for attempt and one year for conspiracy.”
The trio were prosecuted February 7 but the court recessed due to lack of legal representation for the accused persons and were reconvened March 2.
The prosecution counsel was led by the Kano State Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, M.A Lawan while the defence counsel was led by Barrister Asiya Muhammad Imam of legal aid council.
Daily Trust reports that at a resumed hearing while adopting the final written addresses by all parties, the prosecution led by Lamido Abba Soron Dinki, appealed to the court to assess the totality of the evidence tendered before it to find the defendants guilty of the charges leveled against them and sentence them to death.
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