The Kaduna State Schools Quality Assurance Authority (KSSQA), on Friday, shut down two Islamiyah schools indefinitely over alleged rape of a six-year-old girl and impregnation of another 12 year-old-girl.
One of the schools, Madrasatul Ulumul Deeniya Wa Tahfizul Qur’an, located in Rigasa, Igabi local government area of the State was closed over alleged rape of a six-year-old girl within the school premises.
The other Islamiyah school, located at Tsohon Masallacin Juma’a in Kachia, Kachia local government area of the Sate was also shut down following an alleged impregnation of a 12-year-old girl by a 50-year-old teacher at the school.
The Overseer of the KSSQA, Mr Idris Aliyu, who shut down the Islamiya school in Rigasa, explained that the six-year-old girl was violated within the school premises and the school authorities covered it up and feigned ignorance of the incident.
Aliyu added that the information before the State Ministry of Education showed that the victim’s grandmother went to the school authorities to complain but was allegedly beaten by the students and teachers of the Islamiya school.
He said that Governor Nasir El-Rufai has ordered that the Islamiya school be shut down indefinitely until investigation is concluded and the culprit produced.
He added that the headmaster of the school would be held responsible for the act until all persons in the school were profiled and the perpetrator identified by the victim and prosecuted.
“The individuals responsible for the violence against the grandmother, especially the headmaster, will also be prosecuted. This is in line with the state government’s responsibility in protecting the vulnerable population in the state,” he said.
However, the headteacher of the school, Malam Kabir Abdullahi, denied the allegation, saying “it is not a rape. What we gathered is that an unidentified boy injured the girl in her private part with a stick.”
Abdullahi said that the case is already being investigated by the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) in Rigasa Police Division, ASP Abubakar Bauranya.
On his part, the DPO confirmed receiving the complaint and equally corroborated the narrative of the headteacher of the Islamiyah school.
But the grandmother of the victim, Hajiya Batul Gambo, insisted that her grandchild was violated and it had been confirmed by Sexual Assault Referral Centre in Yusuf Dantsoho Memorial Hospital Tudun Wada, Kaduna.
A medical report signed by Dr A. Raji confirmed Gambo’s claim that the six-year-old was raped.
Raji’s report attributed the bleeding to “virginal bruising of the labia minora, bilaterally periurethral bruising, heamatoma of the clitoris and laceration of the hymen.”
On the rape and impregnation of 12-year-old girl in Kachia, Aliyu said that the girl is now six-month pregnant.
He said that the school was equally closed as directed by Governor el-Rufai, stressing that the safety of the pupils cannot be guaranteed.
He added that Commissioner of Human Services and Social Development, Hajiya Hafsat Baba, and the Commissioner for Education, Hajiya Halima Lawal, would work closely with the police to investigate and ensure justice for all the victims.
“Meanwhile, the two schools will remain closed until investigations are concluded and the culprit prosecuted in accordance with the law,” he added.
Credit: Leadership