Police in Maiduguri have arrested a female teacher for allegedly assaulting a four-year-old primary school pupil in Borno.
The Police Public Relations Officer for Borno State Police Command, ASP Sani Kamilu Shatambaya, confirmed the arrest to newsmen in Maiduguri, on Saturday, November 25, 2022.
“The case is with the police and the teacher was arrested, “Shatambaya explained to newsmen on phone, continuing, “We are doing a thorough and objective investigation on the matter, and later refer it to court.” Speaking to newsmen, the father of the victim, Hassan Dala, alleged that the teacher used to hide his daughter inside her veil and used her finger to defile her. “It happened in Golden Olive Academy, Maiduguri,” Dala recalled.
“The Academy is a Nursery and Primary school. “The teacher usually put my daughter inside her veil and forced the girl to suck her, while inserting her finger in my daughter’s private part,” the father told newsmen almost tearfully. “One day, her mother observed the state of the toddler while bathing her; she started complaining of pains in her private part, but the mother first ignored it, dismissing it as normal.
“When the complaints persisted, the mother noticed blood in the child’s urine, and called my attention to it; We took her to a private clinic at Bulumkutu, Miyetti Clinic, where a doctor advised us to investigate what happened. “An investigation at Umaru Shehu Hospital confirmed intrusion into the child’s private part,” the aggrieved father disclosed.
He called on Governor Zulum to, in the spirit of the state’s Violence Against Persons Prohibition Act and the Child Tights Act, intervene to ensure justice for his child.
The Borno State coordinator of the National Human Right Commission, Jummai Usman Mshelia, confirmed knowledge of the case. “Teachers in the school were paraded and the pupil pointed at the particular teacher,” Mshelia said.
She said the teacher was alleged to be in the habit of distributing chocolates to the pupils, “And, it was alleged that the teacher used the same bait to lure the child.”
According to Mshelia, the police had wanted to file the case at magistrate court but they insisted the case should be taken to the high court for proper prosecution because the medical report had proved penetration.