JOURNALISTS BARRED FROM COVERING COURT PROCEEDINGS OF MURDER OF KANO 5 SCHOOL GIRL, HANIFA ABUBAKAR
Journalists , on Wednesday were prevented from covering the trial of the suspected killers of Kano schoolgirl, HANIFAH ABUBAKAR.
Reporters had arrived the court premises as early as 9 am to cover the hearing of the criminal case against three suspects namely: ABDULMALIQ TANKO, HASHIMU ISYAKU and FATIMA MUSA.
However, the reporters were barred from gaining entrance into the court premises by security operatives, who had barricaded all entrances to the courtroom.
It was initially not clear, if the directive to stop Journalists from covering the hearing before Justice USMAN NA’ABA came from the court.
Meanwhile, a credible source told the reporters at the court premises that the restriction was occasioned by a prosecution witness who pleaded to testify “secretly”.
The kano State Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Barr. MUSA ABDULLAHI LAWAN, who later addressed reporters on the development, confirmed the development but said the restriction would be lifted after the witness was done testifying.
Brave Views recalls that TANKO, ISYAKU and MUSA facing a five-count charge along with other two accused persons of criminal conspiracy, attempt to kidnap, abetment, kidnapping and concealing dead body.
TANKO and ISYAKU had pleaded guilty on the first count charge of criminal conspiracy and pleaded not guilty to the other four count charges, while the third defendant pleaded not guilty to all the five charges.
The Prosecutor, who is also the Attorney-General of Kano State, Barr. MUSA
ABDULLAHI LAWAN informed the court that sometime in November 2021, the defendants conspired and kidnapped the five-year-old HANIFA while she was returning from Islamiyya school.
He alleged that TANKO, the proprietor of NOBEL KIDS COMPREHENSIVE COLLEGE, Kano, had on Decemner 4, 2021, kidnapped and held HANIFA hostage in his house, situated at Tudun Murtala for days and killed her with poison.
“In the process, the second defendant ISYAKU buried her in a shallow grave in the premises of Northwest Preparatory School, situated at Kwanar Yan Ghana, Tudun Murtala, Kano.
“On December 27, 2021, the third defendant MUSA wrote a letter to the victim’s family, on behalf of TANKO, demanding the sum of six million Naira as ransom.”