‘It’s a horror story’ — ACF condemns death of 5-year-old pupil ‘killed by proprietor’ in Kano

The Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) has condemned the death of Hanifa Abubakar, a five-year-old pupil who was allegedly killed by a school proprietor in Kano.

The pupil was kidnapped in December and her abductors had demanded N6 million ransom.

On Thursday, the police in Kano arrested Abdulmalik Tanko, Abubakar’s proprietor, who allegedly abducted and killed her. 

In a statement on Saturday by Emmanuel Yawe, the forum’s spokesperson, ACF called on governments at all levels to take urgent steps to curb the menace of anti-social behaviour and criminal acts in schools across the country.

“The Arewa Consultative Forum wishes to express its shock and revulsion over the anti social and criminal acts going on in Nigerian schools,” Yawe said.

“These border on bullying, murder, kidnappings, homosexuality, cultism etc.
The latest of these cases of horror is the alleged kidnap and murder of five-year-old pupil, Hanifa Abubakar by her teacher Abdulmalik Muhammed at a private school in Kwanar Dakatar in Kano state.

“This is a horror story comparable to what happened in December last year when Sylvester Oromoni a 12-year-old student of Dowen College was bullied and then tortured to death by his fellow students because he refused to join them in their cult activities.

“The Arewa Consultative Forum would like to call the attention of the authorities to this new epidemic of drugs, brutality, cults and death which is taking over all schools across the country and endangering the lives of our daughters and sons and the future of our country.

“These horrors are not limited to private schools. But we are particularly concerned about what goes on in private schools because they take their students as commodities which should be traded for money.

“This is a horrible trend that will not only destroy the future of these innocent children but that of our Nigeria. We call on our governments to step in forcefully and nip this trend in the bud.”

The ACF also warned the government to save the children who have been trapped in the web of inhumanity.