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The Kano State Police Command has paraded the woman who kidnapped and killed an 8-year-old girl, Aisha Sani, at Tudun-Wada, Nassarawa LGA of the state.
Recall that Aisha was declared missing three weeks ago, and two weeks later, her corpse was discovered in a well at Gandun Albasa Quarters in the Kano Municipal Local Government Area, several kilometers from her home.
The Commissioner of Police, Mr. Ahmed Iliyasu paraded the woman identified as Fadila Mohd Surajo, on Friday at the command headquarters in Bompai, alongside 116 suspects arrested over various crimes including armed robbery, kidnapping, and car snatching among others.
“On 15/7/2019 at about 1045hrs, one Sani Umar ‘m’ of Bukar Bolori street Tudun wada Qtrs, Kano reported that on 14/7/2019 at 1735hrs, his daughter, one Aisha Sani ‘f’ aged 8yrs of same address was kidnapped by unknown woman and took her to unknown destination. During the course of investigation, a decomposing body of the victim was found in a well located at Tukuntawa qrts, Kano on 22/07/2019. Corpse was taken to Mortuary and was later released to the relatives for burial. However on 31/7/2019, one Fadila Mohd Surajo ‘f’ of Sabuwar Gandu qtrs, Kano was arrested in connection with the case and confessed to the crime. Case under investigation.” the police boss said.
Aisha was abducted by the suspect who was covered in an Islamic veil, on her way home from Islamiyya school. She was later killed and dumped in a well while negotiation for ransom to secure her release was still going on.
Speaking to Daily Trust, Aisha’s father Umar, confirmed that the dastardly act was planned and executed by his wife’s childhood friend Fadila. The suspect, whose parents live at Tudun Wada Quarters, is said to be a frequent visitor to Umar’s family.
“Before this incident happened, on Saturday we were together at home and I observed that although she did not complain of ill health, she looked pale and sick. When I asked her what was happening, she said she was okay. That was the Saturday before her abduction on Sunday. The most surprising aspect of it was that the person that took her away came to our house that Saturday and my wife designed a beautiful henna for her. While my wife was doing the henna, she asked her which Islamiyya school Aisha attended. Aisha herself answered innocently that she attended Ihiya’ussunna, not knowing that it was a plan to abduct her,’’ he alleged.
“On Sunday I didn’t go anywhere. About 5pm I decided to visit my friend in the market and we were about to go for Magrib prayer when my phone rang. When I picked, they told me that Aisha was missing, that she did not return from Islamiyya. On hearing that, I became confused because the Islamiyya is not far from our house. It was then that her sister said that on their way home, Aisha was taken by one woman who was wearing Islamic hijab. That was how we started looking for the girl, searching everywhere till 1am. Subsequently, I reported to the police.
“On Monday, about 5:30pm I received a text message saying, ‘Aisha is with us and she is in good condition.’’ After that text message the line went off for over two hours. They sent another message that they would not release the girl until we gave them N10million,” Umar alleged.
He said the messages were sent in piecemeal, adding that after each message, the phone would be switched off till after two hours. This could be said to have prolonged the negotiation process, which led to the killing of the child.
One week after the kidnap, Aisha’s father received a call threatening that they would kill the child if he didn’t give them N10m.
“I said the amount was too much and they asked how much I would offer. I said N80, 000, then they said I should give my wife the money to take to a location in Gwarzo Primary School, Karkasara. When I heard that, I knew it was another plan to trap my wife, so I replied that she had been sick before the incident; hence her blood pressure had risen so high that she could not do anything. The following morning, they sent another text message asking me to take the money to a location behind the mortuary at Abdullahi Wase Specialist Hospital.
“The following morning I took my wife, wrapped the money in a polythene bag and she dropped it at the specified location inside a female toilet at the hospital. We thought we would receive Aisha that day, but their phone was off till after two days before they called and said I had betrayed them,’’ he narrated.
He said that after all efforts to secure the release of the child proved abortive, he contacted the Department of State Service (DSS) and the police, through whose relentless efforts, the suspect, who happened to be the second wife of his childhood friend, was arrested.
In her confessional statement, the suspect said she first kept the girl with her sister at Zoo Road on a claim that the child’s mother was her friend who was divorced recently and her husband wanted to take custody of the child, that’s why she decided to take her away.
“She confessed that the girl was with her sister when the negotiation started, but after sometime she took her away and locked her in a toilet for three days. On the fourth day, she got tired of her and threw her in a well,” Umar added.