A 13 - year - old , Hauwa Dadi , on Sunday regained her
freedom , four days after being allegedly abducted for
the purpose of forcing her into a marriage .
Hauwa , an SS 1 student of the Brighter Academy
Secondary School , Gashua , is a daughter of a former
Secretary of the Christian Association of Nigeria .
She was abducted and allegedly kept at the palace of
the Emir of Gashua for ‘ Islamic evangelism . ’
Hauwa was, however , released on Sunday from the
palace of the Emir , Alhaji Abubakar Suleman .
A civil rights organisation , Stefanos Foundation , which
blew the lid off the alleged plot to force the teenager
into marriage , had vowed that it would pursue the case
till the girl was released .
The Executive Director of SF , Mark Lipdo , had then
appealed to the relevant authorities “ to step in and
help this poor woman who has been nursing her sick
husband for the past six years . ”
Hauwa ’ s elder brother , Jonathan Dadi, broke the news
of her release to Northern City News in Jos on Sunday .
He said , “ Thank you , Mr . Journalist, thank you , The
PUNCH . I am pleased to inform you that my sister has
been released to us.
“ The Emir ordered that my sister , Hauwa Dadi , should
be released to us . But we signed an undertaking that
she should not be punished . We have just left the
Emir ’ s palace . I will call you later to give you the
details . ”
Our correspondent reported that the Christian
community and Evangelical Church Winning All in the
Bade Local Government Area of Yobe State had been
thrown into confusion , following the abduction of the
teenager .
When contacted , the Gashua Police Area Commander ,
Joseph Aloefuna , confirmed that the case was brought
to his knowledge by the Gashua Divisional Police
Officer .
He said , “ I wasn ’ t directly involved but the DPO said
he was involved and he confirmed that he was invited
into the matter .
“ There was this boy who was said to have insisted on
marrying the girl (Hauwa ). They are in the same
school . The matter was reported to the school
management and the boy was punished and warned to
stop harassing the girl .
“ Later, the girl was abducted and the boy was the
prime suspect . The boy was arrested but claimed that
the girl ran to the Emir ’ s palace because she wanted to
convert to Islam .
“ The Emir took her to the Chief Imam; the Chief Imam
said the girl was scared but he was asked to take her to
the welfare officials instead of keeping her in his
custody .
“ We took the statement of everybody concerned . The
Chief Imam said there was going to be a meeting on
the matter , ” Aloefuna explained .
Before her release , the mother of the girl , Deborah ,
had , in an interview , given a detailed account of how
the abduction plot was perfected .
She said , “ On Thursday afternoon , I had a meeting in
ECWA Church , Gashua . Her twin brother , Zachariah,
took wheelbarrow to fetch water for us. My daughter
removed her uniform , put on her personal clothes and
left . When one of her sisters asked her where she was
going, Hauwa said she was going to fetch water with
Zachariah and disappeared .
“ But before the incident , there has been one boy who
claimed to love her and wanted to marry her . He told
her to convert to Islam . ”
The mother said when she went to look for her
daughter in the area , she heard that she had been
abducted by her neighbours and was taken to the
Imam of Gashua , Babu Alkali Mamman .
She then reported the matter to one Inspector Melody
Habila at the Gashua Police Command .
But when Imam Alkali was invited to the police
command , he pleaded to be allowed to take the
Jumma ’ at prayers before coming but he never came .
Instead, the Imam ’ s lawyer later came to the police
station and invited Deborah to the Emir ’ s palace .
When Deborah went to the palace , she was asked to
come back , but on reaching there at 4pm , she was
neither given her daughter nor allowed to see the Emir
again .