By Ismail Auwal
Kano State Police Command paraded the wife and girlfriend of Abdulmalik, the abductor of a 5-year-old girl from Kano, Haneefa Abubakar, on Friday.
In an interview with SAHELIAN TIMES, his girlfriend, Fatima Jibrin, stated that Abdulmalik, approached her and asked her to pick up a girl who claimed was his niece.
“He told me that Haneefa’s mother had recently gotten a job in Saudi Arabia and that I should go see her.”
“I later went to see her, and he later promised me N200,000. But when I realized it was a kidnapping plan, I turned down the offer,” she explained.
His wife stated that Abdulmalik told her that Haneefa would stay with her for a few days because her mother, a teacher at his school, had traveled.
“I asked him to take her to her relatives, but he insisted on keeping her with me,” she explained.
The wife also expressed regret over marrying Abdulmalik.
The suspects confirmed receiving N100,000 from Haneefa’s parents as part payment for the ransom he requested.
“I asked the parent to drop the N100,000 in Isyaku Rabiu city in Kano, which they did, and I went there to pick it up,” he explained.
He stated that he used N71,000 of the N100,000 he received to pay staff salaries.
He also blamed the act on “financial problems,” rather than ritual, as “I heard people saying.”