Heartbroken mother demands truth after JSS2 student dies in Kano school
The Kano State Police Command has launched a full-scale investigation into the controversial death of Maimuna Sani (popularly known as Nihal), a 14-year-old Junior Secondary School (JSS2) student at St. Louis Secondary School, Kano.
The tragedy, which occurred on Saturday at the elite Catholic girls’ boarding school, has sparked intense public outrage and conflicting accounts, pitilessly reopening conversations around student safety and corporal punishment in private institutions.
While the school management claims the teenager died from a sudden asthma attack, her grieving family alleges she collapsed and died after facing severe physical punishment—including flogging and prolonged kneeling—inflicted by senior students.
‘They Are Hiding Something’ — Grieving Mother Demands Answers
Speaking to NigerianSketch.com, the deceased’s mother, Mrs. Nusaiba Rabiu Dan Sheriff, recounted the heartbreaking sequence of events, insisting that the circumstances surrounding her only daughter’s death are highly suspicious.
Mrs. Nusaiba explained that she received a distress call from the school on Saturday evening informing her that Nihal had been hospitalised. Because she was also hospitalised with an illness at the time, she dispatched her sister to the medical facility.
“My sister arrived at the hospital around 7:30 PM. An hour later, she called to ask if Nihal was asthmatic. I told her no. At the hospital, they told her Nihal was late for prayers, was severely punished, and that was how she died,” Nusaiba said.
READ ALSO: Kano police set up special panel over tragic death of St. Louis JSS2 boarding student
Upon arriving, the family was met with devastating news. “The doctor told my sister that Nihal was already dead when they brought her to the hospital, despite the school’s claims that it was an asthma attack,” the mother recalled.
Nusaiba further revealed that when she saw her daughter’s body, she noticed physical anomalies. “Her mouth was completely black. I asked what they gave her to make her mouth look like that, and they claimed that’s how dead bodies look. I did not agree.”
The mother also alleged that the school’s Vice Principal, Hadiza Babayaro, urged her to remain patient and “not to listen to rumors.”
“I asked her if there was anything she wasn’t telling me, but she said no. That made me even more curious. This is no longer about a school’s reputation; it is about human life. I believe there is more to this story, and I want the truth to come out,” she stated, calling on the government and rights groups to ensure justice for Nihal.
Nihal’s maternal grandmother, Safiya Sani Yola, corroborated the account, noting that the medical staff’s abrupt questioning regarding asthma immediately triggered the family’s suspicions.
School Silent as Police Construct Special Probe Panel
When contacted by journalists, the Principal of St. Louis Secondary School, Reverend Sister Christiana Diyab, declined to comment on the merits of the allegations.
“For now, I don’t want to say anything to preempt the investigation or pass a verdict on an ongoing issue,” the Principal stated, noting that the matter is entirely in the hands of the law.
Confirming the development, the Kano State Police Public Relations Officer, CSP Abdullahi Haruna Kiyawa, revealed that a formal petition was submitted on June 17, 2026, by Nakudu Law Partners on behalf of the deceased’s mother.
CSP Kiyawa stated that the Commissioner of Police, Ibrahim Adamu Bakori, has ordered the Special Investigation Panel—led by DCP Shehu Idris of the Criminal Investigation Department—to handle the matter with the utmost transparency and diligence.
“The Command assures the family and the public that the investigation will be thorough and impartial. Anyone found culpable will face the full wrath of the law,” Kiyawa said.
Kano government vows decisive action
Reacting to the incident, the Kano State Government has urged members of the public to remain calm while the police complete their inquiry.
Speaking on the matter, the Executive Secretary of the state’s Private and Voluntary Institutions Board, Baba Abubakar Umar, stated that the government is closely monitoring the situation and will act strictly based on forensic and police findings.
“It could be a natural death, as the school claimed she was asthmatic, or it could be due to something else, as her parents suspect,” Umar noted. “We will ensure justice is served.”
Umar strongly reiterated that the state government maintains a strict, zero-tolerance policy against bullying and corporal punishment.
Dejavu in Kano: Recurring nightmares in private schools
The tragic demise of Maimuna Sani has reignited deep-seated anxieties among parents in Kano, coming on the heels of previous horrific incidents of abuse in private educational institutions.
- December 2021: The state was thrown into mourning following the kidnap and murder of five-year-old Hanifa Abubakar. She was poisoned with rat killer and buried on school grounds by her school proprietor, Abdulmalik Tanko, who was subsequently sentenced to death by hanging in July 2022.
- May 2026: Just last month, Al-Hadeed Private School in Ungogo LGA was shut down indefinitely after a teacher, popularly known as “Uncle Kamal,” allegedly raped four underage sisters from the same family. The suspect remains remanded in correctional custody awaiting trial.
Aisha Haruna Kabuga of the National Coalition of Child Rights Advocates of Nigeria warned that these recurring horrors are severely eroding parental confidence, warning that schools are transforming into “places of fear and insecurity.”
Kabuga blamed the lapses on a lack of awareness regarding the Child Protection Laws, which were domesticated in Kano State in 2023 under former governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje.
“Many schools are still completely unaware of this legal instrument,” Kabuga lamented. “If this situation is not heavily controlled, parents will start withdrawing their wards, leading to an inflation of school dropouts and street hawkers.”
She urged the state to fully implement the multi-sectoral Child Protection Committee and emphasized the critical need to protect witnesses. “There must be an enabling environment to ensure that student witnesses can testify safely without facing intimidation or academic retaliation from school management,” she concluded.
