Bauchi State Commissioner for Women Affairs and Child Development, Hajara Gidado, has narrated how a nine-year-old Almajiri boy, initially brought from Kano State for Islamic education, turned to criminal activities, including kidnapping, after acquiring an old Android phone through begging.
In a revelation during the training at Sa’ad Abubakar Hajj Camp in Bauchi, Gidado detailed the boy’s abduction of a five-year-old girl from her father’s home
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.
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“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.
Gidado urged parents to ensure their children’s well-being, emphasizing the crucial role of teachers in guiding Almajiris toward positive paths.