Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje of Kano State yesterday vowed not to hesitate to sign the death sentence for the alleged killer of the five-year-old schoolgirl, Hanifa Abubakar if sentenced to death by the court.
Governor Ganduje ’s stance came as the First Lady, Aisha Buhari, called for public execution of the school proprietor, Abdulmalik Muhammad Tanko, who kidnapped and murdered his pupil in Kano if convicted by a court.
The governor spoke yesterday during a condolence visit alongside his Deputy, Dr. Nasiru Yusuf Gawuna, Majority Leader, State House of Assembly, Labaran Abdul Madari and other top government functionaries, to the family’s residence in Dakata/Kawaji.
Ganduje in a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Abba Anwar, said “We have good confirmation from the court handling the process that, justice would be done. No stone would be left unturned.
“Whoever is found guilty of this heinous offence will also face death without wasting any time. As a government, we have already started the process. Our constitution provides that, when a death sentence is passed, it is the constitutional power of the governor to assent for the execution of the culprit. I assure you all that, I will not waste even one second.”
On the speed of the proceeding, he assured that there would be a speedy dispensation of justice, adding that, the “Government will take good care of the family of our late child, Hanifa of blessed memory.”
Meanwhile, the First Lady, Aisha Buhari, called for public execution of the suspect if convicted by the court.
Recall that an Islamic scholar had suggested that Tanko, who was arrested for kidnapping and killing Hanifa Abubakar, a pupil under his care, be executed publicly to serve as a deterrence.
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According to him, “What happened was that some kidnappers came to kidnap the owner of one filling station in the town. Unfortunately for them, they could not achieve their mission. In the process of running to escape being trapped, they started shooting sporadically.
“It was in the process that they threw an explosive into the church to cause fear to enable them to escape. The explosive blew up and caused some damages to the building, but luckily, nobody was hurt.”
It was earlier reported that, The wife of the President, Aisha Buhari has backed calls for the killing of Abdulmalik Tanko, proprietor of Noble Kids Academy Kano who killed his 5 years old pupil, Hanifa Abubakar.
Tanko had in December 2021, kidnapped the deceased child who attended his school but recently confessed to the crime after he was apprehended.
The development had stimulated reactions from Nigerians who demanded that the perpetrator be killed the same way he murdered the child.
In a video currently making the rounds on social media, Malam Abdallah Gadon Kaya, a Kano-based cleric, demanded that Tanko be killed the same way he killed Hanifa.
“His (Tanko’s) life is not more than this girl’s life, the way he took her life, his life should be taken also and let it be done publicly so that another person wouldn’t repeat such”, he said in the video.
Reacting on her Instagram account on Monday, the First Lady who reposted the cleric’s video said she was in support of the calls for the killers’ execution.
“We are behind Mallam’s stance”, the first lady’s post said.
