President Muhammadu Buhari has commiserated with the family of the kidnapped and murdered five-year-old schoolgirl, Hanifa Abubakar, urging the family to bear the loss with courage.

Hanifa was reported to have been killed by Abdulmalik Tanko, the proprietor of Noble Kids Academy at Kwanar Dakata in the Nassarawa Local Government Area of Kano State.

The Star had earlier reported that the proprietor of the school had narrated how he killed the pupil with an N100 rat poison and buried her remains in the school premises after he kidnapped her last year

However, President Buhari, while reacting to the tragic incident via a statement by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, enjoined the family of the five-year-old pupil to “bear the sad loss with courage and fortitude in God”.

The President praised the work of the police and the secret service in unraveling the mystery behind the disappearance of Hanifa, and particularly for the arrest of her teacher and his other accomplices suspected of the child’s kidnap and murder.

Buhari urged the Police and Ministry of Justice to uphold the integrity of the detective work that busted the case by preparing well and presenting a good case that will earn the respect of the court.

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According to Shehu, “President Buhari said the family and the whole nation which followed up on Hanifa’s travail every day since her disappearance in December last year were hoping for the girl to have been rescued alive and well, adding however that the very thorough and painstaking detective operation by the law enforcement bodies, leading to the discovery of the corpse and the arrest of the suspects who have already made confessions was commendable, calling it an achievement that should instill more public confidence in the authorities.

“When breakthroughs like this happen, people will talk differently of law enforcement.

“President Buhari prayed for the repose of the soul of the little school girl and urged her parents to bear the sad loss with courage and fortitude in God.

“The President urged the Police and Ministry of Justice to uphold the integrity of the detective work that busted the case by preparing well and presenting a good case that will earn the respect of the court.”

TheStar