Olanrewaju Lawal, Birnin Kebbi
The Kebbi State Government on Monday pledged to treat and rehabilitate a teenage boy, Jibril Aliyu, who chained for two years by his foster parents in the Badariya area of Birnin Kebbi.
The Special Adviser to Governor Abubakar Atiku Bagudu on Women and Social Development, Hajiya Zara’u Wali, stated this shortly after visiting the boy at Sir Yahaya Memorial Hospital, Birnin Kebbi.
Wali expressed shock about the bizarre story of the boy who was chained along with livestock and left to starve for the two yearsof his inhumane ordeal.
The victim had subsisted on animal fodder, with no water, and was forced to eat his own faeces in order to survive.
‘Really what happened since yesterday was a touching situation that has deeply touched His Excellency, Senator Atiku Bagudu, so much,’ Wali said.
‘We just heard about the boy who had been chained by his foster father and mother, living a barbaric life.
‘His Excellency, Senator Abubakar Atiku Bagudu, will never allow such an angry scenario to recur again in Kebbi State, despite all the encouragement that the State Government has been giving our people in a State like this.’
Wali admonished the people of the State to always promptly report such unfortunate occurrences, either to the Ministry or through any of the Local Gvernment authorities s across the State.
The Governor’s Aide further pledged that the State Government would assists anybody in such grave situation.
‘The State Government is really touched and we will go to any length to ensure the logical prosecution of the suspects.
She appealed to the Kebbi State House of Assembly to speedly pass the law for the protection of the child so that culprits would be dealt with within the ambit of the law to serve as deterrent to others.
The Special Adviser disclosed that the boy has been admitted at the Sir Yahayya Memorial Hospital in Birnin Kebbi, where his health status is being ascertained .
‘Evaluation will be done by the doctors and any kind of problems diagnosed will be fully taken care of by the State Government,’ she vowed.
Also speaking, the Chairman of Birnin Kebbi Local Government Area, Alhaji Aminu Ahmad S/Fada, who expressed shock, pledged to complement efforts by the State Government to treat and rehabilitate the distressed boy, as well as see to the eventual prosecution of the offenders.
He called on members of the community, particularly community leaders, to be vigilant and report any case of abuse to the relevant authorities.
The wife of the Governor, Dr Zainab Shinkafi Bagudu, NGOs and Civil Society Organisations in the State, have advocated for the enactment of a law for the protection of the child in the State.
Subsequently, the Kebbi State Government had on June 22, submitted the Gender-Based Violence and Child Molestation Act to the State Legislature for passage into law.
Wali was accompanied by the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Hajiya Aishatu Maikurata, Alhaji Aminu Ahmad S/Fada, the Chairman of Birnin Kebbi Local Government, representatives of National Human Rights Commission in the State, NGOs and some journalists, when she visited the boy at the hospital.