President Muhammadu Buhari has expressed the nation’s condolences to the family of the five-year-old school girl, Hanifa Abubakar, whose body was discovered in a shallow grave in Kano after nearly two months of fruitless search.
The president, in a statement on Friday in Abuja by his media aide, Malam Garba Shehu, also praised the work of the police and the secret service in unravelling the mystery behind the disappearance of Hanifa.
He particularly lauded them for the arrest of her teacher and his other accomplices suspected to have been involved in the child’s kidnap and murder.
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.
He, however, noted 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 had already made confessions were commendable.
The president said this was an achievement that should instil more public confidence in the authorities.
“When breakthroughs like this happen, people will talk differently of law enforcement,” he added.
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 the Ministry of Justice to uphold the integrity of the detective work that cracked the case by preparing well and presenting a good case that will earn the respect of the court. (NAN)
