Hanifa disappears
Hanifa Abubakar was a five-year-old pupil in Kano. Police records reported by Nigerian media state that her family reported her kidnapped in early December 2021 and later received a ransom demand of ₦6 million.
Investigators eventually arrested Abdulmalik Tanko, the proprietor of a school Hanifa had attended, and Hashimu Isyaku. Police said Tanko admitted taking the child and later led investigators to the place where her remains had been buried. Those investigative statements were not treated as a substitute for trial: Tanko later contested important parts of the prosecution account in court.
The breach of trust
The case drew intense public attention because Hanifa knew Tanko through school. That relationship matters to understanding the crime without sensationalism: the person accused of abducting her was not a stranger selected at random, but an adult who occupied a position of trust in the child's educational environment.
Crime by Region does not reproduce the most disturbing details circulated after the discovery of Hanifa's body. They are unnecessary to understand the kidnapping, ransom demand, homicide and prosecution.
Charges and trial
The Kano State Government prosecuted Tanko together with Hashimu Isyaku and Fatima Jibril. The charges included criminal conspiracy, kidnapping and offences connected with Hanifa's death and concealment.
During the proceedings, Tanko admitted kidnapping Hanifa but disputed the prosecution's account of the killing. The trial therefore required the state to prove the capital offences through admissible evidence rather than rely on an early public confession narrative.
The 2022 judgment
On July 28, 2022, the Kano State High Court convicted Tanko and Isyaku and sentenced them to death in connection with Hanifa's kidnapping and killing. Fatima Jibril received a lesser custodial sentence for the offences proved against her.
The differentiated sentences are important. Jibril is not described in this file as having received the same homicide conviction or punishment as the two men because the trial court did not impose the same legal outcome on all three defendants.
The appeal
In 2024, Tanko and Isyaku sought additional time to challenge the death sentences before the Court of Appeal in Kano. Their lawyers argued that the trial court's conclusions were not supported by the evidence and asked the appellate court to set the judgment aside.
On December 30, 2025, the Court of Appeal dismissed Tanko's appeal and affirmed the Kano State High Court's judgment. Reports of the ruling state that Justice A. R. Muhammad found no basis to interfere with the trial court's evaluation of the evidence. Because the appellate ruling itself referred to remaining legal avenues, this page does not claim that every possible further appeal has necessarily been exhausted.
Current status
The case is classified Solved / Adjudicated. A criminal trial produced convictions for Hanifa's kidnapping and killing, and Tanko's principal conviction and sentence survived review by the Court of Appeal at the end of 2025.
That classification does not authorize broader claims about people who were never convicted, nor does it mean that every procedural question concerning every defendant has been finally exhausted. It reflects the verified adjudication that exists in the public record.
Timeline
December 2021: Hanifa is kidnapped in Kano and her family receives a ransom demand.
January 2022: police announce arrests and recover Hanifa's remains after the investigation identifies the school proprietor and others as suspects.
January 24, 2022: Tanko, Isyaku and Jibril are arraigned.
July 28, 2022: Kano State High Court convicts Tanko and Isyaku and imposes death sentences; Jibril receives a lesser sentence.
October 2024: the Court of Appeal grants additional time for the convicts to pursue their appeals.
December 30, 2025: the Court of Appeal dismisses Tanko's appeal and upholds the trial judgment against him.