Bauchi First Lady Promises Return Of Abducted Children

Wife of Bauchi State governor and chairperson, Bauchi State Action Committee on Sexual and Gender-based Violence (SGBV), Hajiya Aisha Bala Mohammed, has pledged to take necessary security measures to ensure that the three children recently abducted from Bauchi and reportedly trafficked to Anambra State were returned to their parents.

Dr Aisha Mohammed expressed worry when she was briefed about the trafficking of the abducted children to Anambra by a woman named Favour Daniel from Gwallameji, a suburb of Bauchi metropolis, namely Fatima Zakari (6), 4-year-old Isa Abdulkadir and Salisu Sabo also of four years of age.
The wife of the governor said despite the fact that two of the abducted children were traced to Anambra State after the culprit was apprehended by security operatives, she is still disturbed having not yet transported the traced two children back to Bauchi.

Dr Aisha spoke when she interacted with parents of the abducted children, the Police and members of Federation of Women Lawyers Association (FIDA), Bauch State chapter, as well as the village head of Gwallameji in her office in Bauchi.

It could be recalled that the suspect, who is from the southeast, abducted the three children last Tuesday after incentivising them from her neighbours at Gwallameji Quarters in Bauchi metropolis, only five days after she rented a room in the area, camouflaging to be a student of a nearby Federal Polytechnic.

Hajiya Aisha has assured the Gwallameji people that she would do all that is humanly possible to ensure that the remaining yet-to-be traced stolen child is recovered through the culprit who might have sold the victim elsewhere.

She therefore drew the attention of the Gwallameji people, especially mothers, to be vigilant on the activities of their children, and to prevent them from going on errands, stressing that they shouldn’t be lackadaisical in the proper upbringing of their children.

The first lady explained that her committee would not relent in its ongoing enlightenment drive of educating parents to live up to their responsibilities of giving proper guidance to their wards, while guarding them against undesirable elements in the society.

Dr Aisha also expressed regret that such an incident has been reoccurring in the state for some time now and counseled parents to be vigilant about their wards, observing that it is a phenomenon currently ravaging the northern states.

She also wondered how parents are reluctant in tutoring their children despite the enlightenment being conducted by government, non-governmental and civil society organisations and teachers in educational institutions across the state.

The first lady further drew the attention of parents against the activities of unscrupulous elements in the society such as ritualists, human traffickers and the likes who were bent on making quick money, urging guardians to be wary.

Parents at the interaction, Maryam Habibu, Rashida Hassan and Saratu Isah were grateful to God for the rescue of their children and prayed for the tracing of the remaining child abducted last Tuesday, saying they were happy when it was discovered that their children had been found.

They said the woman enticed their children with gifts and the children were playing in their compound when they were kidnapped.

Village head of Gwallameji, Alhaji Hassan Ibrahim, said when he received the story about the incident, he directed the parents to report the incident to Police and they immediately started making more efforts to rescue the abducted children.