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Maimuna

Started by gogannaka, December 22, 2010, 12:51:31 PM

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gogannaka

Just recently residents of Kano were saddened with the news of a 16year old girl that was abducted by some dubious policemen,raped, deflowered(disvirgined) and turned into a sex slave.
The Hisbah was the first to handle the case and then after media exposure, the police admitted and started investigating the case.
A friend asked me why the case hasn't been brought up in Kanoonline and that he was ashamed. His thoughts were that the members are nonchalant to fight for her cause and for Justice.
I directed him to Dr Tilde's blog site where he had discussed extensively on Maimuna's case.
I also thought i should bring it up on Kanoonline.
Below is the article written about Maimuna by Dr Tilde. You can follow it up on his blog site at http://fridaydiscourse.blogspot.com/2010/12/trivial-5-maimuna-and-our-complacent.html



Maimuna


This is not trivial at all.

Maimuna is the 16 year old girl whose plight was reported by Weekly Trust last Saturday, 11 December 2010. She was abducted on the street by Yusuf, a policeman on a night patrol team in Kano, and kept in his house as a sex slave for 28 days before she could escape. Maimuna alleged that while in his custody,  Yusuf sold her out for sex to his friends among the Police and others who could pay a handsome amount. In a plea for her compliance, a drug dealer, Sanusi Pele, told her how he repeatedly paid Yusuf before he could get her. With Yusuf, however, the rape was on a daily basis. The full story of the poor can be read at http://www.weekly.dailytrust.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=4835:how-policemen-turned-girl-16-into-sex-slave-they-forced-me-to-sleep-with-others-including-drug-dealer&catid=40:cover-stories&Itemid=26

Maimuna's family complained to the Police but it took the intervention of Kano Hisbah Board before the Police started investigating the matter. Yusuf admitted keeping the girl but, naturally, denied raping her. He and the others, I reliably learnt yesterday, have already been released from police custody. There have been veritable reports of pressure mounted on the family to withdraw the case. The Divisional Police Officer under whom Yusuf is serving and to whom the complaint was first lodged "begged the relatives to forgive his men and let the matter die", reported Weekly Trust. Nor was the word of his boss, the state Police Commissioner more reassuring: "If the allegation is found false, the Hisbah Board will be required to buttress their information so that the general public will know the true situation of the matter."

From this, one can safely conclude the outcome of the investigation. The police command in Kano is famous for unending investigations. High profile murder cases have vanished in its case files after the initial promises to 'bring the culprits to book."

Therefore, I am not ready to squander my hope that Maimuna's case would be  any different. Otherwise, why the effort to buy the silence of her relatives who are so poor to even afford the almost daily taxi fare to the police station? Perhaps, it is in recognition of the enormous forces against her that little declared, "If I don't get justice here on earth, I am sure I'll get it in the hereafter."

My argument in this short discussion is that we cannot afford to wait for the hereafter. Maimuna is our daughter, just like the daughter of any of us. This is the first reported case of its kind. There have been cases of rape in police custody, just as there have been many cases of sex slavery. What makes Maimuna's different is the combination of the two: the use of state instrument of law to rape and sex-slave a teenager in a traditional society like Kano. Yusuf abducted her as she was riding a bike to return home when he was on official duty to protect the civilian population of Kano. He and one Inspector Dantalle have been using the patrol vehicle to transport her from one customer to another. He threatened her with his status, his uniform, his gun, his friends, and with the authority of state. That is the difference.

Being the first also necessitates the need to show sufficient public outcry against the breach of public trust. More girls might have suffered the same fate silently in the past. But more will definitely suffer in future if we remain silent and allow Maimuna's case to fizzle away while Yusuf and his likes continue to serve as policemen. This is where I find us guilty. Since the story hit the stands, there has been no public protest over the issue except the press release made by the management of Dandali/Ra'ayi/Yan'arewa yahoo discussion groups. That Hisbah and the office of the Attorney-General are handling it is not enough; that is simply official.There is the need for the outcry to come from other quarters. The silence is sickening.

First, where are our women's right advocacy groups who deafened our ears when Senator Sani Yariman Bakura allegedly married a 13 year old Egyptian girl? Where is their advocacy against child trafficking? Where are those advocating against child abuse?

In fact, where are the people of Kano who have in the past distinguished themselves with the culture of protest over all sorts of issues – political, economic, ethnic and religious? Why have they not protested so far to the Police headquarters and added their voice on the need to bring Yusuf and other culprits to book? Where is the Kano that could spend its fortune on regulating Hausa films not forthcoming in lending its voice collectively in support of it's 16 year old daughter? Where are its Ulama? Has any of them delivered a Friday sermon condemning this action? Where is the Shariah committee? Has its members demanded that Yusuf be handed over to any Shariah court for trial? Where are its academicians and writers? Are their pens dry? What has become of the ancient city and its great people?

Indeed, where is Governor Shekarau, the Sardauna of Kano? Would have the original Sardauna failed to rest his weight behind Maimuna until justice is done? Where is Ado, it's Emir, who inherited the throne of his father Sanusi who never wasted any time since his youth to protect the interest of his subjects and attend to their needs, as Sir Sharwood Smith once said?

Where is the larger umma that could protest the cartoons of the Prophet or the Miss World pageant, matters far smaller in Islam than the rape of a girl? One cannot imagine what would have happened were the culprits not Muslims.  Chineke! Fortunately, for the peace of Kano and the nation, the evil was homegrown. All of them are Muslims – Yusuf, Dantalle, Salisu, Shehu, Misbahu, Sanusi, name them – though, we must hasten to add that the religious identity of the girl is immaterial to a conscientious public that is threatened by wolves in uniform. When things are left to government in Nigeria, their end is more predictable than the coming of tomorrow.

All cultures place high premium on the dignity of their women. Islam in particular takes serious offense when women are molested. One of the major conflicts between the Muslims in Medina and their Jewish neighbours during the lifetime of the Prophet was over the molestation some the Jews meted on a Muslim woman in the market. Also, when a Muslim woman was once held captive by an emperor of a foreign land, the Caliph sent him a letter, threatening  him with war: "Release her immediately; otherwise, I will fight you with a force that would begin at your end and end at mine." The emperor obliged immediately. Those were men with guts. Their dignity comes first before their material interest. For us, we are bourgeois, as Fukuyama has described us. We are the "last man" who has compromised his self-pride for the ingredients of survival.

Not all of us, though. I recount the display of courage by one medical student at Ahmadu Bello University four years ago. A visiting professor, Singh, was teaching the class how to revamp the respiration of a person that has seizure as a result of accident or other causes. It required a demonstration which is usually done on a male student. Unknown to the cultural sensitivity of the class, the professor asked a girl to come forward for the demonstration, which required her to strip her chest. She started crying. He insisted. Kabiru, one of her classmates, rose and objected, saying, "She won't." And that was the end. Singh complained to the Dean about Kabiru's 'rudeness' but the matter was laid to rest by explaining to the professor the inappropriateness of his demand in the cultural context of the class. Kabiru is now in his clinicals. Than him, I think, Bauchi has not produced a better boy. He is my hero. Had he thought of the consequences of expulsion or so, he would have kept quiet and allowed the girl to suffer the humiliation. But he was instantly transfigured by the self-pride he shares with the girl to do the right thing, which saved the girl.

In a world of very few Kabirus, we can still accord Maimuna and her family some succour. The girl, as the press release by the discussion groups suggested, needs professional counselling to help her manage the traumatic experience. The regime of counselling should be lasting. She also needs to be clinically tested and treated immediately for any STD including HIV, now and later, especially given the type of characters that have raped her repeatedly. She and her family need money to help them stick to their guns and ward off any attempt to buy their silence. It will also help finance a private litigation if the need arises. Finally, though the voice of men will bring a lot of assurance to the family, that of our female advocates will particularly boost the confidence of the girl.

Should we fail in this, our silence makes us accomplices in the eyes of humanity.

What should be done to Yusuf and his gang? I quite agree with the calls of the discussion groups, that pending completion of investigations, the suspects need to be suspended from the Force and retained in custody without bail because they will interfere with the investigations. There is admission of culpability from Yusuf when he conceded that he harboured the girl. That is enough a circumstantial evidence. When the investigation is completed and the evidence of their culpability ascertained, they should be charged to court for rape, slavery and breach of public trust. Their sentence must be aggravated, to run successively, not concurrently, given the heinous nature of their crime. That is enough to keep them in jail forever. Other criminals among the police will not miss the signal of deterrence.

Also as suggested by the groups, the Inspector General of Police needs to take over the investigation and display the resolve that is required to allow Maimuna attain justice. If the present Kano State Commissioner of Police is the same Yabo that was in Kaduna some months ago, I will cry with a loud voice for the transfer of the case for Force Headquarters.

Finally, there is a brewing idea of establishing a fund for the family by the discussion groups. When arrangements are completed, in addition to my personal contribution, I have pledged to appeal to my readers across the world to also donate. Though the stomach in us is gone, at least this much we can do for the poor Maimuna. Before then, please let me have your comments below.
Surely after suffering comes enjoyment

Dave_McEwan_Hill

A fine report. I await any development with considerable interest.
maigemu

gogannaka

Here is an Update on the story:

From Daily trust newspapers, 23-12-10

Two police officers found to be involved in the kidnap and rape of a 16-year-old girl in Kano have been summarily dismissed from the Nigerian Police Force while their accomplice, a police inspector, was demoted in rank, Kano State Police Commissioner Muhammad Tambari Yabo said in Kano yesterday.


He said the dismissed policemen, Constable Yusuf Ibrahim and Constable Salisu Mahmud, were found to be the prime suspects in the rape case, while Inspector Mohammed Dantalle was demoted because of his complicity in the crime.


Yabo, who spoke to newsmen at the state police command headquarters, said the three policemen were tried and found guilty at orderly room level. The commissioner said he personally reviewed the outcome of the orderly room trial and handed down the punishment.

Police Commissioner Yabo also said plans are being put in place to send the case diary to the state's Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) for professional advice with regards to prosecuting the men.

On the civilian collaborators said to be linked to the crime, the commissioner said information available to the police showed that they have fled to Lagos and Ibadan. He said the command had already declared them wanted and circulated their photographs in those areas for easy apprehension.

According to him, the three civilians actively took part in the alleged crime alongside the policemen, saying there will be no hiding place for them as the long arms of the law will surely catch up with them.

He expressed hope that the measures taken against the cops will help address the concern being raised by members of the public since the matter came to limelight last month. "We will continue to do our work with the fear of God," he said.

It would be recalled that three weeks ago, the three policemen were reported to have abducted the 16 year-old girl during a night patrol at Kofar Nassarawa roundabout inside Kano metropolis, from where they were said to have held her inside a room at Kwalli Police Station and serially raping her.

The men were also accused of using a police patrol vehicle to take the girl to various places to have sex with the said civilians, who paid the cops for the service.  The victim told our reporter that one of the civilian patrons she was taken to was an Indian hemp dealer.

Meanwhile, the police high command said yesterday that the police officers who detained and raped a 16-year-old girl did not make attempt to suppress investigation into the matter. The National Human Rights Commission had expressed concern at reports that policemen at the Kwalli police station in Kano, where the girl was detained and raped, had tried to suppress evidence in the case, including attempting to persuade the victims' parents to abandon the case.

Kano State Police Commissioner Mohammed Tambari Yabo told Daily Trust on telephone that "there was no attempt to suppress the evidence in the case since the investigation commenced. The matter was investigated and those involved have been punished. Some of them were sacked while others were demoted."
Surely after suffering comes enjoyment

Muhsin

Quote from: Dave_McEwan_Hill on December 22, 2010, 09:39:32 PM
A fine report. I await any development with considerable interest.

So we all are, Mr. Dave. The story shattered everybody's mind here in Kano. InshaAllah the suspects (or should I say the culprit) will not get free. All of them.

Get to know [and remember] Allah in prosperity & He will know  [and remember] you in adversity.

gogannaka

More update on Maimuna's case:
Extracted from Dr. Tilde's Blog.
Enjoy!


Maimuna's Donations Account Number
The much awaited account number dedicated to the cause of Maimuna, the 16 year old girl that was raped and sex slaved by some policemen in Kano is given below.

ACC NUMBER: 0071060040371
ACC NAME: MIJINYAWA TANKO U & GHAZALI ADO
BANK NAME: DIAMOND BANK, MURTALA MUHAMMED WAY, KANO

There are three joint signatories to the account:

Dr Abdullahi Dahiru
Alhaji Ghazali Ado and
Alhaji Uba Tanko Mijinyawa

I travelled to Kano two days ago to meet with these people and work out some details of what needs to be done immediately. They are meeting today with the representative of Hizbah who has also been handling the matter of Maimuna to discuss the issue of the trust or foundation under which matters associated with her, including funds, will be handled. The suggestion so far is that it should inlcude representatives of government, Hizbah, women network in Kano, and Maryam's uncle.

There have been three significant developments on this issue since my last update four days ago.

1. The Police Commissioner in Kano has announced the dismissal from service of two of the three policemen; the third is demoted from Inspector to sergeant for his partial involvement. The CP said the suspects will be handed over to the DPP for immediate prosecution.

2. The Human Rights Commission has petitioned the Inspector General of Police on the matter calling for full investigations.

3. Two days ago, the Attorney-General of the Federation (AG) and Minister of Justice has ordered the Inspector General of Police to arrest the culprits and conduct full investigation into the matter which he described as "dastardly", "criminal" and "constituted a grave violation of the victim's fundamental right to the respect and dignity of her person."   According to the report, "the Attorney-General condemned the action of the Police high command in remaining silent on this incident that has attracted wide publicity and public condemnation."

We remain grateful to the public and the media for the coverage. Here, the Voice of America Hausa Service deserves a special mention for its extensive coverage.

I assure donors that their donation is safe. We will be making pubic whatever accrues into the account and the source, anonymous or known, from time to time. We hope readers will contribute generously whatever they can, big or small.

As a farmer struggling with life in rural Nigeria, I announce my the donation of a young cow that will deliver many other cows and bulls for Maimuna on my farm, God willing. In addition, I also donate N50,000 ($325) cash.

"And whatever good you do God is aware of it."

Aliyu U. Tilde
Surely after suffering comes enjoyment

EMTL

#5
Assalamu alaikum,
This is a very good course.
In the Affairs of People Fear Allah (SWT). In the Matters Relating to Allah (SWT) Do not be Afraid of Anybody. Ibn Katthab (RA).

gogannaka

News Update on Maimuna:

The three policemen that were declared guilty of abduction and rape of a 16-year-old girl in Kano will be charged to court today, says Inspector General of Police, Alhaji Hafiz Ringim.


Ringim while answering questions during a programme on Freedom Radio on Monday said all the indicted policemen had been dismissed from the force, saying the incident was despicable and ought not to have taken place at all.



Ringim said investigation had established that the suspects were bad eggs who were not supposed to be wearing uniform as policemen.

"The most painful aspect of the saga is the involvement of an Inspector of police," he stressed.

"All of them, including the said inspector, are no longer policemen and we are going to charge them to court on Wednesday (today)," said Ringim.

However, he disclosed that before the alleged rapists are arraigned today, the Assistant Inspector General of Police in charge of Zone 1 in Kano, would address a press conference at the zonal headquarters to make public the decision to fire all the three from the force.

The IG frowned at the attitude of some persons who usually intervened whenever the police authorities were considering punishments for its erring members, adding, "they will tell you rubbish like you don't have to disown your own'."

Ringim noted that such pressures had been exerted on the Kano State police commissioner to forgive the three alleged rapists during the course of investigations.

He then called on members of the public to always report any wrongdoing by any police officer to their superiors for appropriate action.

The IG maintained that members of the public have several avenues to explore to seek redress against unjust police personnel, stating that such men could either be reported to their superiors directly or through elected representatives.

Source:http://dailytrust.dailytrust.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=9088%3Akano-rape-3-police-suspects-to-be-arraigned-today-ig&catid=2%3Alead-stories&Itemid=8
Surely after suffering comes enjoyment