Relations
of another missing 14-year-old girl, Patience Paul, have alleged that the
primary six pupil of Mohammed Zako Model Primary School, Sokoto, may have been
abducted and housed at the palace of the Sultan of Sokoto.
Father
of the girl, Mr. Paul Adaji, an indigene of Ochobo in Ohimini Local Government
Area of Benue State, told Vanguard on phone that his daughter had been missing
since August 12, 2015.
Adaji,
who resides in Sokoto with his family, alleged that some persons spotted his
daughter at the Sultan’s palace. Continue...
He
said: “We got information that she was in the Sultan’s palace and the last time
we went there, we did not find her.”
When
asked how they knew she was at the palace, he said: “Some people told us that
they saw her at the palace. They also used to camp some of them there, that was
why we went to the palace to see if she has been taken there.
“Even
her friend, who used to be a Christian, was found there. She was taken there
and they converted her. “We will still continue to search for her. We will not
give up; we only want the world to help us so that our daughter can be released
to us.”
Brother’s
story
Corroborating
Mr. Adaji’s story, his son, Paul Isaac Adaji, gave an account of circumstances
that led to the disappearance of his sister.
He
said: “Patience is my younger sister. We are based in Sokoto. That is where the
issue occurred. My dad is in Sokoto but we lost our mother two years ago. My
younger sister was brain-washed from school, Mohammed Zako Model Primary school,
Sokoto. She is a primary six pupil.
“The
fact is that sometime last year, we noticed she started keeping some funny
friends and her attitude started changing. This is a girl that normally likes
attending church activities.
“We
cautioned her but along the line, she changed. Then again, she started
misbehaving. So at that point, my parent and I decided to move her out of
Sokoto and return her to Benue State so the rumours of children converting does
not happen to us as we do not have anybody to fight for us.
“Unfortunately,
what we were scared of later happened to us. Sometimes we will see her
returning from school with a veil covering her head. When we inquired, she said
it was given to her by her friend in school.
“We
cautioned her on several occasions. But we later arranged with my dad to get
her back to Benue. Unfortunately, she got to know about our plan to send her
back to Benue and obviously informed the people who were brainwashing her and
they eventually abducted her.
“When
we could not see her, we started serious investigation and along the line,
discovered that it was one of our neighbours who actually abducted her.
Hisbah
takes over
“We
reported the matter to the police. The masterminds of her abduction were
invited by the Police. They made their confessions that the girl wanted to join
their religion, which was why they abducted her. They said they took her to the
Hisbah (Islamic Police).
“At
that point, the Police invited the Hisbah and they came and gave their own
statement. They said they had taken the girl to the Sultan’s palace. I was
hoping that since the police had stepped in, my sister would come home.
“But
that did not happen. I reported the matter at the Police Headquarters in
Sokoto, but it was transferred to our Area Division. So after the
interrogations, the Police said since I reported the matter at the
headquarters, their findings will also be communicated to the headquarters.
“Two
weeks later, I went to the police headquarters here in Sokoto only for the
police to tell us that we should just go and maintain peace. I became
inquisitive and wanted to know what the police found that prompted that advice.
Bishop
Kukah steps in
“It
was at that point that I reported the matter to Catholic Bishop of Sokoto
Diocese, Matthew Kukah. He was very angry with us, saying we ought to have
reported the matter to him earlier.
“He
made some calls and promised to step into the matter. I became restless and
worried because the Bishop is a very busy person. We are urging and pleading
with all well-meaning Nigerians to help us intervene.
“From
what we gathered, from last year up to early this year, she was in the Sultan’s
palace, but she has been taken away from there since last month.
“‘We
went there with my other sister to check and they brought a different person to
us. From our investigations, she is not the only one because the two girls they
brought did not look like real Muslims.”
Meanwhile,
calls to Bishop Kukah to find out the veracity of claims that the matter was
reported to him at a point were not responded to.
Source: Vanguard
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