The Bauchi State Commissioner for Women Affairs and Child Development, Hajara Gidado, has narrated how a nine-year-old Almajiri boy, whose identity is protected, abducted a five-year-old girl from her father’s home.
She disclosed this at the opening of a two-day capacity building training for Tsangaya and Islamiyyah teachers at the Conference Hall of Sa’ad Abubakar Hajj Camp in Bauchi.
The boy, according to her, was originally brought for Islamic education from Kano State to Magama Gumau in Toro Local Government, acquired an old Android phone through begging and engaged in criminal activities, including kidnapping.
The commissioner said: “One day, in the course of his begging, he got to a house, he met a five-year-old girl, he picked her up and took her to a school in the town. After some hours, the girl became hungry, he too became hungry. He therefore went round to look for what the two of them would eat.
“He tried to get the phone number of the father of the girl, who had been looking for the girl. The Almajiri boy called the father and asked him to bring N5million as ransom. The father ignored him.
“Later in the evening, he decided to return the girl to the house where he picked her up. On the way, he met the father who asked him where he got the girl and he ignorantly told the father that he kidnapped her and since the father did not bring the ransom demanded, he decided to return her,” she added.
She said the minor had been abandoned at Bauchi Juvenile Remand Home by his biological parents as well as the Malam from whom he was receiving Islamic and Quranic education in Bauchi, where he is currently serving a sentence having been convicted by a court for an offence he committed three years ago.
The commissioner advised parents to ensure the well-being of their children, even if sent for Islamic education, and emphasised the responsibility of teachers in guiding Almajiris toward a positive path.
