On Thursday, the Kano State Government pledged that Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje will sign the death warrant for Abdulmalik Tanko as soon as the legal process surrounding his conviction was over.
The Attorney General emphasised that the two convicts had the right to challenge the lower court's ruling when he spoke in Kano against the growing unhappiness over the government's next moves.
Lawan said ” The court sentenced two of the accused to death by hanging and the Governor has promised to sign the death warrant, so we are waiting for the 90 days window period for appeal before we do the needful.
“The constitution allows the convicts rights of appeal about three months window period. Remember when this trial started we promised Nigeria the commitment to prosecute the case to its logical conclusion and we’ve delivered on that”.
Tanko Abdulmalik, the main suspect in Hanifa's death, and his accomplice were found guilty last week of kidnapping the five-year-old student to death by hands by Justice Usman Na'aba of the Kano state High court.
The court also found Abdulmalik and Hashimu guilty of the remaining three crimes and sentenced them to five years in prison.
Fatima Musa, the third defendant, was found guilty of criminal conspiracy and attempted kidnapping and received a two-year prison sentence.
The Attorney General said “In six months, the trial judge concluded the case within six months. This is commendable. So if there is appeal, we would remind the public that government is ready for the appeal at any given time. Not only that, we would make sure the trial and judgement is given equal commitment and speedy completion. I can assured the public that we are matching the trial with all sense of responsibility and seriousness”.
Lawan stated that, “For people raising questions on whether the Judgement would be executed or not, all I can say is the law is the law. We would wait for after the 90 days grace of appeal. If they appeal fine, we would equally swing to action if they did not, as soon as the waiting period expired the governor will do the needful.