Oromoni, Hanifa, Zuwaira: School children as endangered species

In this report for IkejaBird, KOLA ALHASSAN examines circumstances that led to the excruciating deaths of innocent school children, Sylvester Oromoni, Hanifa Abubakar and Zuwaira Gambo and what should be done to forestall recurrence.

First, it was Dowen College student, Sylvester Oromoni whose manner of death on November 30, 2021 raised dust in the country.The school claimed that he sustained injuries from playing football. But, the family said before he died, he disclosed that he was subjected to terror by bullies and a substance was forced down his throat.

Autopsy reports said he died of “acute lung injury due to chemical intoxication in a background of blunt force trauma.”

Arrested suspects were later freed on grounds of no evidence against them. The last has not been heard as Sylvester’s parents want justice served.

For Hanifa Abubakar, her tragic death in the hands of someone who should have been a custodian is no less bloodcurdling.

Abducted,poisoned, butchered and buried in a shallow grave, the pretty Hanifa must have cursed the cruel fate that befell her.

Abdulmalik Tanko, who owns two schools in Kano State; Nobel Kids Academy, and Northwest Preparatory School, kidnapped the five-year-old on December 2, 2021. He went on to demand N6 million ransom from her traumatized parents 10 days after the abduction.

In sixes and sevens, Hanifa’s parents raised N100,000. Sadly, Tanko deployed rat poison to kill her, butchered like abbatoir men and buried her remains in a shallow grave.

Tanko must have come from the dark underworld of beastly creatures. He subjected a little girl to the most excruciating of deaths. Not only that, the parents will forever live with that agony of chilling extreme.Justice would only seem an ephemeral relief.

Hanifa’s father , Abubakar Abdulsalam, said: “She was the first and the only child of the family. My wife and I were fond of her. Her permanent absence has already started to cause us sleepless nights.”

Just as the general public were battling with the anguish of Hanifa’s murder, Kano State governor, Abdullahi Ganduje, announced on January 26 , the death of 12-year-old girl, Zuwaira Gambo, who was murdered.

The governor said : ” There is another case of one Zuwaira Gambo, 12 years old, who was also murdered.

“The case is going hand in hand with that of Hanifa. We are committed to seeing that justice is done,” he said.

Ganduje said the perpetrator had been arrested by security agents.

Observers and stakeholders wonder why young school children have become endangered species.

In separate interviews with IkejaBird, they noted that Federal Government should provide strong frameworks and policies to safeguard the interest of school children and keep them from predators.

A Lagos-based school administrator, Mrs Bola Adesina said: “There should be strict laws against kidnapping of school children,even bullying. Then, perpetrators should be severely punished. None of them should go scot-free. One can only imagine the pain of the affected parents now.”

A parent Mr Latif Ademola advised parents not to entrust their wards with anyone,no matter the relationship.He urged Kano State Government to speedily dispense justice for Hanifa and Zuwaira to forestall a recurrence.

” This is lesson for parents not to trust anybody with their children,either teachers or whoever. Look at what that wicked man ,Tanko did.How can one be so cruel as to poison and butcher an innocent little girl?

My appeal to Kano State Government is to ensure they serve justice very fast. There should be no further delay since the suspect has been nabbed.Once he is dealt with, it would serve as a lesson to other cruel criminals,” he said.

However, the death of Sylvester, Hanifa and Zuwaira remains a stark reminder that school children have become endangered of some sort with the tense security situation of the country.

With the souls of the departed little ones wailing in the ether of the great beyond, justice can only give them repose.