TheCable

President Muhammadu Buhari has expressed his condolences to the family of Hanifa Abubakar, the five-year-old pupil murdered in Kano.

Abdulmalik Tanko, Hanifa’s teacher, had confessed to killing her by feeding the pupil with rat poison.

According to a statement by Garba Shehu, presidential spokesperson, Buhari said the country was hopeful the girl would be rescued, adding that the security operatives who worked on the case did a commendable job.

“President Muhammadu Buhari, on Friday, expressed the nation’s condolences to the family of the five-year-old school girl, Hanifa Abubakar, whose body was discovered in a shallow grave in Kano after nearly two months of fruitless search,” the statement reads.

“The president, in the same breath, has praised the work of the police and the secret service in unraveling the mystery behind the disappearance of Hanifa, and particularly for the arrest of her teacher and his other accomplices suspected of the child’s kidnap and murder.

“President Buhari said the family and the whole nation which followed up on Hanifa’s travail every day since her disappearance in December last year were hoping for the girl to have been rescued alive and well, adding however that the very thorough and painstaking detective operation by the law enforcement bodies, leading to the discovery of the corpse and the arrest of the suspects who have already made confessions was commendable, calling it an achievement that should instill more public confidence in the authorities.”

According to the statement, Buhari said “when breakthroughs like this happen, people will talk differently of law enforcement”.

The president also prayed for the repose of Hanifa’s soul, and directed the security agencies and ministry of justice to ensure proper presentation of the case in court to sustain the integrity of the officers who uncovered the issue.