Police detectives in Bauchi State have arrested a 37-year old man for allegedly abducting two almajiri boys and for severally raping one of them.
The suspect, an indigene of Hausari Dandal, Borno State, was said to have lured and abducted one of the victims, from Kano State and took him to Daura, Katsina State.
The 12-year old victim hails from Gamniya village in Niger Republic was taken to Kano for Quranic education
The Police Public Relations Officer, Bauchi State Command, Ahmed Wakil, stated these in a statement he made available to journalists in the State on Monday.
The statement was titled: “Crime: 37-year-old man arrested in Bauchi for abducting two Almajiri boys from Katsina, abusing one; Attributes actions to ‘evil’.”
Wakil, a Superintendent of Police, said that detectives attached to Gamawa Divisional Police Headquarters in Gamawa Local Government Area of Bauchi State, arrested the suspect following a complaint from the community where he pretends to run a Quranic school.
He said: “The Bauchi State Police Command has arrested Abubakar Talba ‘m’ 37-year-old from Hausari Dandal, Borno State, for abduction and sodomy.
“While responding to a complaint from the community regarding his ill-treatment of the boys under the guise of running a Quranic school, the Detectives attached to Gamawa Divisional Police Headquarters led by the Divisional police officer immediately arrested the suspect.
“During interrogation, the suspect confessed that he had attended a Quranic school in Fagge. He met one of his victims at BATA area in Fagge LGA.
“The victim, identified as Masaud Barau, 12 years old, from Gamniya village in Niger Republic, was brought to a Quranic school in Rijiyar Lemo, Kano state.
“The suspect lured him from Kano to Daura under the pretence that he would support him to start a business.”
He said that on reaching Daura, the suspect encountered the second victim, identified as Ibrahim Jabiru, male, (13) from Mai Mujiya village in Katsina state, who was brought to a Quranic school at ‘Tsangayar Malam Usman’ in Daura under the pretence of providing capital to start selling touch lights and batteries.
“From Daura, he moved the two boys to Danbatta, where he began abusing one of the boys inside a mosque. After spending the night in Danbatta, he proceeded to Udubo Village in Bauchi State, where he continued to abuse the victim,” he added.
According to him, the Bauchi State Police Command, under the leadership of Auwal Mohammed, will charge the suspect to court after the investigation is completed.
He said that the command implores members of the public to provide useful information that could help locate the parents or guardians of the victims.