Sitting on a mat in a corner of an empty room, Jamila Rabi’u mourns the death of her 3-year-old daughter who was raped by a 49-year-old neighbour, a situation that led to a heart attack and subsequently, death. While still living with the trauma of losing her first child at a tender age and trying to recover, Jamila could not stay at her house, she is now receiving condolences at her parent’s residence all within Gama quarters. In this interview with Daily Trust, she narrated how someone who’s supposed to give them cover, exposed them to sheer inhumane treatment.
What was your family’s relationship with Baba Idi (Idris Isah) like?
He’s our neighbour. We are family friends with his relatives – the people he lives with.
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I got to know him not more than two months ago. Although he is said to have been here for a long time but for me, it’s just recently that I started recognizing him.
How did your daughter get to know him?
Khadija used to go to the house to play with other children in the house because they have children who are her age mates, and they also used to come to my house to play.
On his part, I heard he is fond of sharing sweets/candy to the children. Everyone thought it’s a normal thing since most people do it. All the children in the neighbourhood know him.
How did you get to know what happened and how did you go about it?
It was on a Monday when she wanted to urinate and I heard her shouting. I ran fast and checked on her and then I saw blood on her private part.
Upon seeing that, I did not touch it but called her father to see it, and we took her to the hospital. They told us they cannot touch her except we come with security agents.
We went to the police division at Kwana Hudu and a police officer accompanied us to the Murtala Muhammad Specialist Hospital where the doctor confirmed that she had been penetrated.
The police collected her father’s number and said they will come in the evening.
The moment the police came, she started crying, saying that she didn’t want to tell me because he told her that if she tells her father or mother, he will kill her – pointing a knife and scissors at her. Then he was arrested.
Later, the father was called on phone and they demanded to see the girl for questioning.
She confirmed he was the one and said he used to give her biscuits, sweets and cheese balls.
…and you never questioned where she got the sweets from?
She used to come with sweets because he is known for giving children sweets almost on a daily basis. Sometimes, before he goes out or when he’s back.
What was his reaction when confronted?
When the police asked him, he confessed that he used to play with her, touch her hair calling her ‘yar Fulani’, meaning Fulani girl. That’s when the police asked us to leave and come back the following morning being Wednesday.
In the morning, we went back to the police and the girl reconfirmed that it was him. So, they transferred the case to the Police Command in Bompai.
The moment he was brought out and she saw him at Bompai, she inhaled heavily and became frightened. Right there, she became feverish. He was asked to turn his back while she narrated all that he did to her.
What then happened?
From that moment, she was not herself, she kept repeating that he said he will kill her if she tells anyone. She kept repeating; “Call my father for me, he said he will kill me if I tell you,” and I kept asking her to calm down but to no avail. We had a sleepless night that day.
She died on Thursday around 3pm while still repeating those words. At a point, she drew a long breath and gave up.
What do you want now?
I am demanding for justice for my child; what happened was a breach of trust and inhuman treatment. It is sad and disappointing for a neighbour to commit this kind of crime against his neighbour.
I’m appealing to the authorities to do the needful and punish him accordingly.
