By ARMSTRONG ALLAHMAGANI, Bauchi -i
A human rights group, Prison Inmate Development Initiative (PIDI-Nigeria), has alleged that a 38-year old shoe shiner, Saleh Hassan, drugged and raped a five year old girl in Bauchi.
This was contained in a media statement signed by the group’s Executive Director, Cate Rize, and made available to NATIONAL ACCORD in Bauchi on Tuesday.
The group said that the five-year old girl, Mariya Suleiman, was raped by the man at Unguwar Hardo area of the Bauchi state capital.
It stated that it was a saddening case because the suspect drugged the little girl before raping her, adding that Hassan, was also the Chairman of Peace and Security Committee (Yan Committee) in Paparanda Unguwan Hardo in Bauchi State.
According to the group, the suspect also lives on the same street with the parents of the victim.
The statement reads in part: “The case was reported to the Paralegal Unit of PIDI-Nigeria on Saturday and the monitoring and Investigation unit of the organisation went for the investigation.
“On getting there, we met with the mother of Mariya, Mrs. Sureya Abubakar and her father Malam Suleiman Idris.
“Findings by PIDI revealed that Mrs Sureya had on the 16th day of July 2020, sent the victim (Mariya) to go and buy Spaghetti at about 7:00am but didn’t return on time.”
The victim’s mother, according to PIDI, noticed that her daughter was limping upon returning home, she then asked her where she had been and what was wrong with her.
The group said that on persistent inquiry by her mother, the victim alleged that she was raped by one, uncle Saleh, saying that “when she got the spaghetti, on her way coming home, he (Saleh) called her and asked her to take one medicine he gave her.
“She said it was after she took the medicine that she slept off, and when she woke up, she said he showed her a knife and said if she tells anybody, she will be killed.”
The Human rights group said that when the victim was taken to a gynecologist at the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa Teaching Hospital in Bauchi, several tests carried out on her revealed a forceful penetration in her private part.
It regretted that the girl has been rendered helpless and hopeless calling on the police to prosecute the suspected rapist who is in Police custody.
The Police Public Relations Officer, Bauchi state Command, Ahmed Wakili, a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), who confirmed the incident to our Correspondent, said that the suspect had been arrested and “the case will be transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID) for discreet Investigation.”