Pres Buhari mourns murdered five-year-old girl, Hanifa

On Friday, Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari sympathies with the family of Hanifa Abubakar, a five-year-old Noble Kids Nursery and Primary Schoolgirl who was kidnapped and murdered.

Hanifa Abubakar, was kidnapped while on her way from Islamiyya School in December and killed by her Teacher (Abdulmalik Tanko) who is also the school's acting director, after an almost two-month search, the schoolgirl's body was discovered in a shallow grave in Kano, read (here)

Buhari expressed his condolences in a statement signed by Garba Shehu, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity.

"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."

Buhari, according to Shehu, prayed for the soul of the little schoolgirl's repose and advised her parents to bear the tragic loss with strength and faith in God.

This came as he encouraged the police and the Ministry of Justice to maintain the integrity of the detective work that led to the case being broken by properly preparing and presenting a case that will gain the court's respect.