Justice A. R. Muhammad of the Court of Appeal sitting in Kano has confirmed the death sentence imposed on the killer of young Hanifa Abubakar, Abdulmalik Tanko
Justice A Muhammad rejected Tanko’s appeal and affirmed the ruling of the Kano State High Court, which ruled that the killer should die by hanging.
According to the appellate court, the trial court acted legally and in its evaluation of the evidence placed before it.
The judge said the arguments adduced by the appellant has no merit, adding that the prosecution’s case was compelling and convincing.
Justice Mohammed contended that the Court of Appeal found no justification to overturn or interfere with the lower court’s judgement.
The judge told the appropriate authorities to ensure that the judgement is carried out once the convict has exhausted all legally available avenues of appeal.
The appeallant in December 2021, kidnapped Hanifa Abubakar who was five years old at the time.
He was the proprietor of Noble Kids Academy in Nassarawa Local Government Area of Kano State, where she was a pupil.
Tanko gave the child rat poison, leading to her death after demanding a ransom of ₦6 million from her family,
