Kano Police arrests 24-year-old man over alleged kidnap, death of eight-year-old girl

A 24-year-old suspected kidnapper, Habibu Sale has been arrested by the Kano State Police for the alleged kidnap and death of an eight-year-old girl, Asiya Tasiu, in Chikawa village, Gabasawa Local Government Area of the state, after collecting a ransom of N500,000.

It was learnt that Tasiu was kidnapped by Sale on her way to her Aunty’s house while going to deliver an errand sent by her parents.

It was also gathered that Sale had demanded N10million as ransom from the victim’s parents but was later negotiated to N500,000.

Confirming the arrest on Tuesday, the Kano State Police Command Spokesperson, DSP Abdullahi Haruna, said the incident happened on June 6, 2020, but his arrest was effected by the police on November 7, 2020.

According to Haruna, Sale was trailed to several states; Jigawa, Katsina, Kaduna, Abuja, Abia and Kano, where he was finally arrested in front of his house.

He said police investigations revealed that Habibu allegedly killed the girl after collecting the ransom and buried her in a shallow grave at the outskirts of Chikawa village to cover his crime.

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“The culprit kidnapped the little girl, Asiya Tasiu and demanded for the ransom of N10 million which was negotiated down to N500,000. They paid him the ransom but despite that he refused to release her and at the end he killed her and buried her in a shallow grave he dug.

“Since the matter was reported to us about 154 days ago, we have been trailing him.

“We trailed him to Jigawa, Kano, Katsina, Kaduna, Abuja and even to the southern state of Abia State. But at the end we succeeded in arresting him. We arrested him Nov. 7.

“The CP has ordered that the body of the little girl be exhumed from the grave and handed over to the parents for burial rites,” Haruna stated.

However, Habibu confessed to have committed the crime alone and had squandered the ransom paid on drugs, gambling and harlots. But the police theory indicates that there were other accomplices at large.

Meanwhile, the victim’s father, Alhaji Tasiu Mohammed Adamu, while speaking with journalists at the Bompai police headquarters said he had paid the agreed N500,000 that was settled for, but his daughter was still killed.

“The only thing I cannot explain is why they killed my daughter after paying the ransom to them.

“This is very wicked of them and I need justice, which I believe the police will ensure that justice is done for the sake of my daughter,” Adamu said.

By Emmanuella Ibe…

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