Justice elusive for assaulted Unimaid student as alleged attacker evades consequences
Story by, Jamila Yunusa SULEIMAN and Aisha Auyo
On Monday 02-26-2024, at about 8:30 pm Hauwa Abatcha Ngala, a 20 Year-old student of the College of Nursing and Sciences Maiduguri was stabbed in her head and left at the mercy of her relatives on her way to report the constant harassment from one Saleem Ibrahim a student of the University of Maiduguri who claims to love her. The case of his love can be seen as ironic.
In an interview with a correspondent from Neptune Prime, Hauwa recounted her distressing experience, detailing the unwelcome advances and subsequent harassment she endured from Saleem over a year. After rejecting Saleem’s advances, Hauwa’s decision to report the harassment to Saleem’s mother was met with violence as Saleem attacked her, leaving her injured and traumatized.
Hauwa was in the company of her friend who had agreed to accompany her to Saleem’s mother’s place to report him for the persistent harassment and threats as she had rejected his love proposal when Saleem came through the back and hit her on the head.
“After he hit me, my friend and two other persons who were at the scene rushed me back home, and from there we went to the police station.”
Following the attack, Hauwa received medical treatment at Umaru Shehu Ultramodern Hospital, Bulumkutu Maiduguri, with the financial burden borne by her family. Saleem was initially apprehended by JTF civilian volunteers and handed over to the police. However, to Hauwa’s dismay, Saleem was released just three days later, compounding her distress.
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Saleem’s brazenness persisted even after his release, as he taunted Hauwa via Facebook messenger, displaying a flagrant disregard for the consequences of his actions.
Despite subsequent efforts by Hauwa’s family to pursue justice, Saleem evaded accountability, purportedly due to undue influence from influential figures within the government.
“My relatives got frustrated and infuriated, so they lodged another complaint at the Borno State Police Command Headquarters in Maiduguri again on Saturday, March 2, 2024. After they logged another complaint, Saleem was re-arrested and kept in police custody for a week. He was allegedly released again and my relatives were told by the police that the Borno State Secretary to the Government, Hon. Bukar Tijjani has ordered for his release and subsequent dismissal of the case.”
“My family and I were pained by this because he had inflicted physical and emotional pains on me and no action was taken. My family didn’t relent in their efforts to get me justice, so we filed a fresh complaint at the Borno State Police Commissioners Office, (CP, Yusuf Lawan, on Tuesday, March 12, 2024, demanding justice in the case.”
“After we laid another complaint, Saleem Ibrahim was again arrested by the police. My statement was taken at the station and forwarded to the Borno State Ministry of Justice.”
“On Tuesday, 26- March- 2024, the CID Abraham Peter Ibrahim, sent me a text message, informing me that Saleem has been arraigned to court and will be taken to the High Court at Gidan Madara on that particular day.”
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The victim Hauwa, alleged that on that same day, Saleem was granted bail, and a further hearing was scheduled for Monday 8 – April -2024. She further stated that the statement taken to court was contradictory to the statement taken to the Ministry of Justice.
As Hauwa prepares for the next legal proceedings scheduled for April 8, 2024, she remains determined to see her attacker held accountable for his actions. Yet, the discrepancies between statements provided to the police and the Ministry of Justice underscore the challenges and systemic failures that continue to impede victims’ access to justice in Nigeria.
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