Abdulmalik Tanko, the proprietor of Noble Kids Academy, at Kwanar Dakata in the Nassarawa Local Government Area of Kano State, on Friday disclosed how he used a N100 rat poison to kill a five-year-old pupil of the school, Hanifa Abubakar.

Hanifa was reported to have been killed by her proprietor who abducted her in November 2021.

Tanko later contacted the girl’s family and demanded a N6 million ransom.

The proprietor was subsequently arrested by police in the process of collecting part of the N6 million ransom.

Tanko was paraded at the Police Command headquarters in Kano on Friday, saying he killed the pupil with a N100 rat poison.

Speaking at the Command headquarters, the suspect further revealed that he buried Hanifa’s remains in the school premises after she had died of poisoning.

He disclosed: “I picked her inside Keke NAPEP and I carried her to my own house where I lied to my wife that the girl was a daughter to one of the women working in my school and that the mother travelled and pleaded with us to keep the girl for some days. My wife accepted and kept the girl for that reason.

“I realized that the girl’s parents were informed that while picking her, she made mention of ‘uncle’. This gave me the impression that they might be suspecting me as the uncle.

“After some days, some of my teachers visited my house very early in the morning, I was also suspecting that they were sent over to the house to find out whether the girl was there with me; that was on the 5th day after the kidnap.

“So, I decided that it was better I found a way before I would be caught. I first thought of sending this girl to another state but again, I thought the whole town was aware that she was missing. If the girl was going to be sent out through the main roads, we would be caught. So, that was when I conceived the idea of killing her.”

The proprietor continued: “I picked her at home; she was already sleeping, it was getting to 11p.m. I was drinking tea at that time. So, I put the remaining tea in an empty container of BoBo yoghurt. Then I poured the rat poison inside and gave it to the girl, not in my own house.

“When we went to the other school, when we were passing, I told her that I was taking her back to her uncle’s house so as we were going, I gave her the drink on the road and she drank it and then we entered one branch of the school, the branches are two. We entered the other branch with her and I told her I was going to pick something inside. She entered and that was where she finally died.

“I bought the poison with N100. I buried her in the school. Let me clear this doubt. People are thinking that it has to do with ritual, this is not ritual. I buried her inside the school simply because I was not able to find any secure place to dig a hole,” he revealed.

TheStar