By ARMSTRONG ALLAHMAGANI, Bauchi –
Bauchi State Police Command on Thursday said the husband of a 20-year old housewife, who was allegedly raped by a Deputy Superintendent of Immigration, Sani Mu’azu, was arrested over terrorism allegations that were leveled against him.
The command’s spokesman, SP Ahmed Wakil, stated this while reacting to a claim by a Civil Society Organization, African Child Development and Human Rights Protection, Bauchi, which said it wrote a petition to the Commissioner of Police in the State, Auwal Muhammad, against Mu’azu for allegedly raping a 20-year old woman multiple times but nothing was done.
According to the rights group, instead of the Police to act on the victim’s allegations in the petition, they went on to arrest and detain the victim’s husband.
But reacting to the development, the police spokesman said contrary to the claim of Rights Group, the CP received a petition from G. Hassan and Co dated December 12, 2023.
“The Commissioner of Police had directed the Deputy Commissioner of Police, Criminal Investigation Department to investigate.
“The case was investigated and the two lawyers that raised the petition –Nazir Umar and Aliyu Mohammed, came to the Criminal department and a case of this magnitude of rape was mentioned.
“It is a capital offence and investigation is still ongoing and the outcome of the investigation will be revealed to the public.”
Giving reasons why the victim’s husband was arrested, the PPRO, said that he is charged for allegation bothering on terrorism and defamation.
“He is also charged for aiding and abetting offences like kidnapping. The command received a petition from Nazir Umar and Co chambers on behalf of their client, Sani Saleh Mauzu, against the said Yusuf Samaila and based on that, the suspect (victim’s husband) was arrested,” Wakil stated.
Meanwhile, the mother of two children, Libabatu Samaila, has appealed to the Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun to investigate the complaint of rape she brought to the state Command against the Immigration Officer.
Speaking to journalists in an interview on Wednesday, she said she is heartbroken that while the police failed to investigate her complaint of which Mu’azu allegedly perpetrated in the presence of her two children, they have arrested and detained her husband but granted the suspect bail in less than 24 hours.
She expressed regret that the Police had detained her husband for alleged defamation of the suspect for six days now adding that she and her family have been traumatized by the rape incident and the arrest of her husband.
Addressing journalists at a press briefing on Wednesday, the founder of African Child Development, Barrister Muhammed Alkassim, condemned the Bauchi CP for failing to investigate a serious crime of rape.“
“This woman is crying for help and justice,” he said, adding that: “We condemn the failure of the Commissioner of Police, Bauchi State, Command to investigate the case of alleged rape“.
Continuing, he said: “It is important to state categorically that the police has derailed in the general and specific objective of the establishment of the newly established police act as provided under section 1 and 2 of the same act.
“As human rights organization it is also important to further draw the attention of the Bauchi CP in further discharging his primary duty of the Nigeria Police pursuant to Section 4 of the Nigeria Police Act which is to prevent, detect crime and protect the right and free from of every person in Nigeria as provided in the constitution.”
Akassim recalled that he wrote a petition, dated December 22, 2023, to the Commissioner of Police in the state, which was acknowledged on behalf of the victim.
“This petition has been lying in the office of the CP for almost three weeks without investigation. It is a pity and sad to point it clearly, the police has derailed specifically on their primary function to investigate any allegation that has been filed before them“.
This woman has been raped based on the information that we have received and rape is a serious offence under section 278 of the Criminal Code of Bauchi State. It is a heinous offense.”
Barrister Alkassim disclosed that the very first day that the petition was sent to the office of the CP Bauchi, through her first solicitor, G. Haasan and co, the police arrested the suspect.
“In less than 24 hours, he was released on bail in a capital offence unconditionally. This is pathetic,” he said.
“It is our view that the police should immediately order for the re-arrest of the suspect on account of the victim.
“As a human rights group, we will not relent, we will continue to prove until justice is done.”
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