This is contained in a statement issued by the Chief Public Relations Officer, State Ministry of Education, Mr Aliyu Yusuf, on Friday in Kano.
The statement said that the state Commissioner for Education, Alhaji Sanusi Sa’id-Kiru, had expressed shock over the unfortunate incidence.
“Following an alleged kidnap and subsequent murder of a five-year-old Miss Hanifa Abubakar, a pupil of Noble Kids Academy, Kwanar Dakata, by one of the school teachers, Kano state government has ordered an indefinite closure and withdrawal of operational license of the school,’’ it said.
The statement quoted Sa’id-Kiru as saying, “the directives for the closure and licence withdrawal is with immediate effect, pending investigation of the case by the state police command.”
It said that the ministry had constituted a committee with the view to assist in investigating the matter for justice to prevail.
The statement called on parents and guardians to desist from taking their wards to the school and its likes.
It further stated that the ministry would continue to work with the committee in checkmating activities of private schools in the state to prevent future occurrence.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that the police had arrested the suspected teacher, Mr Abdulmalik Mohammed-Tanko, 30, and his accomplice, Mr Hashim Isyaku, 37, over the alleged offence.
The Police Public Relations Officer, SP Abdullahi Haruna-Kiyawa, said that the suspect had demanded for N6 million ransom from the parents of the girl, before he later poisoned her to death and buried her.