The family of Hanifa Abubakar, the five-year-old pupil who was abducted and killed in Kano State, has demanded that the killers be executed on time.
This is coming eleven days after a Kano State High Court presided over by Justice Usman Naabba sentenced to death by hanging the proprietor of Noble Kids College, 38-year-old Abdulmalik Tanko, alongside two others for the crime.
Speaking with The PUNCH, Hanifa’s father, Abdulsalam Abubakar, said he was filled with joy and elated at the judgment.
He stated, “I am not the only one happy with the judgment but my family members too. We conquered at the end. What we expected was what actually happened and we are getting over it as well.’’
Hanifa was abducted on December 4, 2021, on her way home and subsequently killed by the convict, who is her teacher and school proprietor, after demanding N6m ransom.
He said, “Hanifa’s death is something that I will continue to remember for the rest of his life as long as I live. But at the same time, there was nothing one could do about it. That was what God had decided and we cannot kick against it. We don’t have any other option but to accept what God has decided.
“Hanifa was my only daughter. She was my joy. We played, joked and watched television together. She’s my friend and daughter. Her death has created a pain that will be difficult to heal. I’m really missing her. God doesn’t make mistakes. He knows why He took her away from me so we have to accept it in good faith. It’s traumatic. I will miss her for the rest of my life and I want to believe that Hanifa must be happy wherever she is.
“A situation whereby guardians are the ones killing children placed in their care is completely strange to me. Abdulmalik, who was Hanifa’s teacher turned out to be the one who killed her. We trusted him and we never knew he could do that. We believed that she was in a safe hand. It’s a strange thing indeed. In a normal circumstance, a child stays longer with their teachers than their parents. She went to school in the morning, returned in the afternoon and attended Arabic school so she stayed more with the teacher and we trusted that nothing dangerous would happen to her.
“We all believed that Abdulmalik was like a guardian to our daughter. When he came to our street one day, he wore a facemask but despite the facemask, my daughter was able to recognise him. He called her name ‘Hanifa’ and she answered ‘Uncle.’ When Hanifa was kidnapped, he called for a ransom of N6m. The first time and second time when he called to collect the balance was when he was caught. We pray that the governor of Kano State will sign the death warrant for him to be executed. From the day I reported the case to the police, security agents, government officials, the court, and everybody have really been supportive.”
Though justice was served with the judgment which Abubakar hailed, he was worried with the state of his wife who he disclosed took ill after the incident and was undergoing therapy at an undisclosed hospital.
Abubakar stated, “We cannot allow Hanifa’s mother to talk to the media at the moment. She has yet to recover from the trauma. Anytime she hears Hanifa’s name, she finds it difficult to control herself. She was admitted to a hospital the first day we noticed. But we cannot allow her to talk about the judgment for now. She is not strong enough to answer questions from the media. I really appreciate everybody for contributing to the case.”
He added that Hanifa’s death left a scar in the family especially as she was the first child of the couple.
Also speaking, Hanifa’s uncle, Suraj Suleiman, expressed elation over the judgment, saying though the late girl’s death was painful, she was deserving of the justice she got in the case.
Suleiman noted that the issue of death warrant was a cog, saying it was troubling that executions cannot be carried out immediately.
He added that awaiting the assent of the governor on the death warrant was akin to delayed justice, noting that the convict could be pardoned by a new administration if the execution was delayed.
He stated. “What is challenging is the situation that someone who has committed an offence and sentenced to death has to remain in prison for years. Leaving him in the prison increases the prison expenses. They will be spending money on him. I pray that the judiciary come up with new rules based on the prevalent crimes we are having. We are happy with the efforts of the police and the court on the case. They tried their best.
“Hanifa’s death is different from the normal one and we had never witnessed such before. It was terrible. The media also played a major role in the case too.”
