Family Seeks Answers Over Death Of Kano Boarding Student

The family of 14-year-old Maimuna Sani, popularly known as Nihal, a JSS2 boarding student of St. Louis Secondary School in Kano, has demanded justice over her controversial death, insisting that the circumstances surrounding the incident must be thoroughly investigated.

Nihal died on Saturday, 13, June, 2026, after reportedly slumping at the Catholic girls’ boarding school and was later pronounced dead at a hospital.

The incident has sparked outrage and prompted a police investigation amid conflicting accounts of what led to her death.

While the school reportedly claimed that the student suffered an asthma attack, other testimonies alleged that she was punished by senior students through flogging and prolonged kneeling after arriving late for prayers.

Speaking on the incident on Freedom Radio monitored by THE WHISTLER, Nihal’s mother, Nusaiba, said she received a call from the school on Saturday evening informing her that her daughter was ill and had been taken to the hospital.

According to her, she was also receiving treatment at a hospital and could not immediately go to the school, prompting her to send her sister instead.

“My sister called me after about an hour and asked whether Nihal was asthmatic. I told her no. At the hospital, they said she was late for prayer and had been punished, and that was how she died,” she said.

Nusaiba recalled that when her sister arrived at the hospital, officials referred to Nihal as “the patient we lost.”

She added that doctors informed her sister that the teenager was already dead when she was brought to the facility, despite claims that she had suffered an asthma attack.

The grieving mother said she became more 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 is how dead bodies look. I did not agree. I had so many questions, but due to the grief, I couldn’t ask,” she said.

Nusaiba alleged that the school’s Vice Principal, Hadiza Babayaro, urged her to remain calm and not believe information circulating about her daughter’s death.

“I asked her if there was anything she had not told me, but she said no. That made me more curious. This is no longer about school reputation; it is about life,” she stated.

She insisted that there was more to the incident than had been disclosed and called on the government and relevant authorities to ensure justice is served.

Nihal’s maternal grandmother, Safiya Sani Yola, also said family members became suspicious after they were repeatedly asked whether the deceased had asthma.

When contacted, the school principal, Reverend Sister Christiana Diyab, declined to comment, noting that the matter was already under police investigation.

“For now, I don’t want to say anything to preempt investigation or pass a verdict on an ongoing issue,” she said.

Meanwhile, the Kano State Police Command has constituted a Special Investigation Panel to probe the incident following a petition submitted by the deceased’s family through Nakudu Law Partners.

The Police Public Relations Officer, CSP Abdullahi Haruna Kiyawa, said the petition alleged conflicting accounts of the incident, with the family seeking to establish the true cause of death.

He disclosed that the Commissioner of Police, Ibrahim Adamu Bakori, directed that the case be handled with utmost diligence and transparency.

According to him, the panel, headed by DCP Shehu Idris of the Criminal Investigation Department, includes officials from the Kano State Ministry of Justice to provide legal oversight.

Kiyawa said the panel had already invited three teachers, three senior female students and two witnesses, all of whom had given statements, while medical and forensic examinations were ongoing to determine the exact cause of death.

He assured the family and the public that the investigation would be thorough, impartial and transparent, adding that anyone found culpable would be prosecuted.

The Kano State Government also said it would act based on the outcome of the police investigation.

Executive Secretary of the state’s Private and Voluntary Institutions Board, Baba Abubakar Umar, said the government was closely monitoring the case and would ensure justice is served.

“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. It is for the police to investigate and come out with the right result,” he said.

Umar further stressed that corporal punishment remains prohibited in schools across the state and warned proprietors against bullying or any form of abuse of students.

The incident has also reignited concerns among child rights advocates over the safety of children in schools and the need for stronger implementation of child protection laws.