[UPDATE] Hanifa’s murder: Court fixes July 28 for judgement

Kano State High Court presided over by Justice Usman Naabba has fixed July 28, 2022, to deliver judgement in a trial against Abdulmalik Tanko and two other defendants who allegedly kidnapped and killed a five-year-old pupil, Hanifa Abubakar.

It will be recalled that Hanifa Abubakar was abducted on December 4, 2021, on her way home from school and was subsequently discovered to have been killed.

In his ruling on Tuesday, the trial judge, Justice Usman Na’abba, after the defence and prosecution counsel had adopted their final written addresses, fixed July 28 for the final ruling on the case.

Recall that the state government had arraigned Abdulmalik Tanko, Hashimu Isyaku and Fatima Jibrin before the Kano State High Court for criminal conspiracy, kidnapping, keeping in the confinement of an abducted person and culpable homicide contrary to sections 97, 274, 277 and 221 of the penal code.

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Also, the prosecution counsel, Barr. Lamido Abba Soron Dinki, said they pray for the death penalty for the trio of Mr Tanko, Mr Isyaku, and Mrs Jibrin.

According to him, “We urge the court to pass a death sentence on all the defendants because the punishment of those sections under which they are all charged carried the same punishment of death penalty.”

It will equally be recalled that the principal suspect, Tanko, who once pleaded guilty earlier to the three-count charge before making a u-turn to plead not guilty to the culpable homicide, had earlier confessed to having poisoned her with N100 rat poison after which he buried her in a shallow grave in the school premises.