The Court of Appeal in Kano has officially confirmed the death sentence for Abdulmalik Tanko, the school proprietor convicted of the 2021 murder of five-year-old pupil Hanifa Abubakar.
Justice A. R. Muhammad, who presided over the appellate panel, dismissed Tanko’s appeal and affirmed the earlier decision of the Kano State High Court, which had sentenced the convict to death by hanging.
The appellate court held that the initial trial was conducted properly and that the evaluation of evidence against the defendant was legally sound. The judge described the prosecution’s evidence as both compelling and convincing, stating that there was no justification to interfere with the lower court’s verdict. The court further advised that the judgment should be executed once the convict has exhausted any remaining legal avenues for appeal.
The case dates back to December 2021, when Hanifa was abducted and killed with rat poison after her captor demanded a ₦6 million ransom. The incident drew widespread condemnation across Nigeria due to the victim’s age and the fact that the perpetrator was the owner of the school entrusted with her care.
With this ruling, the judiciary has reaffirmed the death sentences for both Tanko and his accomplice, Isyaku Hashim, while maintaining the prison term for a third defendant involved in the conspiracy.
