The tragic death of 14-year-old Maimuna Sani, a JSS2 boarding student at St. Louis Secondary School in Kano, has sparked a police investigation and public outrage following allegations she was tortured to death by senior students for missing early morning prayers .
The teenager, affectionately known as Nihal, reportedly collapsed at the Catholic girls' boarding school last Saturday, June 13, after being forced to kneel on a rocky surface under intense heat from morning until evening . She was rushed to a hospital where she was pronounced dead on arrival .
Mother's Harrowing Account
In a viral video that has ignited widespread anger, the deceased's mother, Nusaiba Rabiu Dan Sheriff, accused school authorities of initially concealing the truth .
"My daughter kept pleading for water, but they refused to give her any. She later collapsed," the grieving mother alleged .
Nusaiba explained that she was also hospitalised at the time and could not go to the school immediately when she received a call about her daughter's illness. She sent her sister instead .
"When my sister arrived at the hospital, they asked if she was related to 'the patient we lost.' The doctor told my sister that Nihal was already dead when they brought her, but they claimed she was asthmatic," Nusaiba recounted .
The mother became suspicious when she saw her daughter's body. "When I saw her, her mouth was black. I asked what caused it, and they said that's how dead bodies look. I did not agree," she said .
Nusaiba further alleged that the school's Vice Principal, Hadiza Babayaro, urged her to remain calm and ignore stories circulating about her daughter's death. "I asked her if there was anything she hadn't told me, but she said no. That made me more curious. This is no longer about school reputation; it is about life," she stated .
Conflicting Accounts
While school authorities reportedly attributed the death to a fatal asthma attack triggered by arriving late for mosque prayers, the family's petition cited accounts alleging Maimuna was flogged and forced to kneel for prolonged periods for refusing to sweep .
Nihal's maternal grandmother, Safiya Sani Yola, said family members became suspicious when hospital staff repeatedly asked whether the deceased had asthma .
Police Investigation Launched
Following a formal petition submitted on June 17 by Nakudu Law Partners, the Kano State Police Command has constituted a Special Investigation Panel headed by Deputy Commissioner of Police Shehu Idris of the Criminal Investigation Department .
The panel has already invited three teachers, three senior female students, and two witnesses for questioning, with statements obtained and medical and forensic examinations ongoing to determine the exact cause of death .
School and Government Response
When contacted, the school principal, Reverend Sister Christiana Diyab, declined to comment, stating the matter is under police investigation: "For now, I don't want to say anything to preempt investigation or pass a verdict on an ongoing issue" .
The Kano State Government has said it will take appropriate action based on the outcome of the police investigation . Executive Secretary of the state's Private and Voluntary Institutions Board, Baba Abubakar Umar, stressed that the state had long banned corporal punishment in schools .
A Pattern of Abuse?
The tragedy has drawn attention to what child rights advocates describe as a worrying pattern of abuse in private educational institutions in Kano. In May 2026, Al-Hadeed Private School in Ungogo LGA was shut down after a teacher allegedly raped four underage sisters from the same family . The state was similarly rocked in December 2021 by the kidnap and murder of five-year-old Hanifa Abubakar by her school proprietor .
Aisha Haruna Kabuga of the National Coalition of Child Rights Advocates of Nigeria warned that these incidents are eroding parental confidence, adding that many schools remain unaware of the Child Protection Laws domesticated in Kano State in 2023 .
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