Desmond Mgbo, Kano
Kano State governor, Dr Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, has ordered that kidnapping of any sort in the state would attract death penalty.
The governor spoke on Thursday at the Government House during the inauguration of the 16-member Commission of Inquiry into the abduction of nine children from the state, chaired by Justice Wada Rano.
“I have already directed the state Ministry of Justice to amend the relevant provisions of the Penal Code (Laws of Kano State) that provides for the punishment of an offender of kidnapping from imprisonments to death penalty,” he announced.
“This would certainty discourage the perpetrators and discourage others from doing this heinous crime in Kano State,” he added.
Ganduje, who insisted that the culprits do not represent Christianity or Islamic religion, said that it was entirely a criminal action, which should be addressed as such.
He expressed bitterness that the children were over the years deprived of their culture, their religion and their families, adding that, “they have been transformed into something else. What is constant in them is their bodies, but not their souls.”
The governor told the children that they were now home and “enjoy the warmth of your parents, you will do the religion of Islam which is the religion of your parents; you will grow in our culture and in our tradition, in our sociology and you will grow to become members of Kano State,” he stated.
Ganduje also announced a donation of N1 million as well as scholarship offer from primary to university education to each of the victims while thanking the leadership of the Christian and Muslim religious associations in the state for their understanding.
Meanwhile a fresh twist has been added to the narrative as the traditional ruler of Igbo people in Kano State, (Eze Ndigbo Kano ) Igwe Boniface Ibekwe, has alleged that three of the rescued children are actually from Igbo land.
In his remark at the event, he alleged that the parents of the said three children were presently in his palace in a bid to reclaim their children, adding that they had alleged that their children were among the ones taken to Kano in the wake of the rescue operation by the police.
“We have all gone to the police with their parents and the children have since identified these persons as their true parents,” he told the audience at the Government House
Igwe Boniface Ibekwe restated the position of the members of Igbo community in the state and that of Igbo leaders in the East condemning the abduction of the children.
He appreciated the people of the state for their restrain and understanding on the issue, admitting that the news of the abduction was enough to ignite social and religious unrest in the state.