The prime suspect in the kidnapping and murder of Hanifa Abubakar, a five-year-old pupil in Kano, Abdulmalik Tanko, has confessed that he killed her with rat poison.
Tanko, who was paraded by the police, confessed to the murder while answering questions on his involvement in the crime.
According to him, he contacted his friend, identified as Hashimu Isyaku, and one Fatima Musa, to kidnap the girl from her home but they failed to carry out the abduction.
Speaking to newsmen on Friday at the headquarters of the state police command in Bompai, Kano, Tanko confessed that he killed the girl with a rat poison he had procured for N100.
The suspect said he decided to kidnap one of his pupils for money as a way to improve his financial situation and take care of his indebtedness to the owner of the structure housing his school, Noble Kids Academy, Kano.
“I have three children. It was desperation to pay the debts I was owing that made me commit the crime,” he said.
Tanko said he had demanded a ransom of N6 million from the victim’s parents but he used the N100,000 that they could come up with to pay the salaries of his teachers.
Hanifa’s uncle, Suraj Suleiman, confirmed the killing of his niece and the recovery of her remains within the premises of the mushroom private school in Tudunwada, Nasarawa Local Government Area of the state.
Suleiman said the suspects first took Hanifa to his wife for keeping but the woman refused to take custody of the victim.
Tanko said: “I lied to Fatima and Isyaku that the girl’s mother was the one behind the plan to kidnap the girl in order to extort her father,” he said.
“After Hashimu and Fatima failed to kidnap the girl, I decided to carry out the kidnapping myself. I kidnapped her when she was returning from Islamic school and took her to my family house.
“She stayed in my family house for about two weeks before I killed her. I killed her after some teachers in my school came to my house.
“I became suspicious. I thought they came to investigate me because they said the girl had once mentioned my name. It was after that visit that I gave her rat poison. I then contacted my friend and asked for his help to dig a hole where the girl would be buried.
“I demanded the sum of N6 million from the parents. I contacted them through the phone number her parents gave the school.
“This is the third school term since I have known Hanifa. I am the one that killed her. I murdered her at my family house with rat poison. I can’t remember the exact date we buried her.”
On his part, Isyaku said Tanko only told him to dig a grave for a neighbour who had a miscarriage.
“Tanko told me his neighbour had a miscarriage and needed to quickly bury the baby. I objected and told him to take the baby to the graveyard in the town but he refused. So, I helped him to dig the grave,” he said.
“He called one night and brought a sack. I was the one that dug the grave and he offered to pay me after we buried the girl.
“He actually came to me about the issue of kidnapping and I told him that I will not be involved in such act.”
According to Abdullahi Kiyawa, police spokesperson in the state, the suspects will be charged to court upon completion of investigation.