We were kidnapped, renamed and sold’
recording cases of missing children in this area. So, sometime in 2017, we complained to the police, but unfortunately, the police did not help us at that time.
“Having lost confidence in the police here at that time, we took our case to Human Rights FM in Abuja where we were linked with the anchor of a popular programme Berekete Family. Through the man, we were taken to the office of the current Inspector General of Police to lodge our complaint, but unfortunately, we could not meet the IGP because he travelled to Katsina State for an official assignment,” he said.
The IGP, however, ordered that they lodge their complaint with the Kano State Commissioner of Police, Ahmed Iliyasu, who subsequently formed a committee with some of them as members, and directed the committee to swing into action immediately.
“In less than two weeks of the formation of that committee, the ring leader of the kidnap syndicate and his wife were arrested, while eight victims were rescued and reunited with their respective families.”
A father of one of the missing children, Malam Abdulra’uf Kawaji, whose child Musa (Amir) was abducted in 2015, urged the authorities not to relent in their efforts to recover the remaining missing children, saying “one of the rescued children, Farouk Ibrahim Ahmad, has confirmed that my child is still alive. So, I still have hope that one day, I will see my son again.”
“Amir was kidnapped when he was 7 and I strongly believe that it was the same Paul that abducted my child because he resides in this area. The distance between my house and his is just a stone throw.”
He said after Mr. Paul was arrested, his wife told him that she now understands why Paul always feels nervous whenever she passes by his shop.
“My wife told me that anytime she passes by Mr. Paul’s shop, he lowers his gaze or turns his face elsewhere. He will never make eye contact with my wife even if she greets him. That is a sign of guilt. I was the first person to be called by the police after they brought back the children from Onitsha, but unfortunately, my child was not among them.
However, he said Farouk had confirmed to him that his child Amir is still alive and that he (Farouk) was attending the same school with Amir, who has been renamed, Emmanuel.
Malam Kawaji called on the government to apply stiffer punishment on the suspects to serve as a deterrent to others to join the ugly trend, noting that “this incident is a serious slap to the entire north. Our leaders, as well as traditional rulers, should do something urgently to rescue the remaining children that are still in captivity.”
He added that the government should also take measures in regulating the activities of house agents in the state, lamenting that “the house agents are the major causes of this problem because they bring in people of questionable characters into our communities without proper investigation about their backgrounds.”
Alhaji Umaru Adamu is the village head of Kawaji where Mr. Paul resides with his family. He told Daily Trust that Paul has spent many years in the area, but they never suspected that he was responsible for the missing children because he was a peaceful man.
“The man has a shop attached to his house and people buy provisions (groceries) from him. When the problem of missing children persisted in the area, there was nothing else we could do but to resort to divine intervention.
“We heard that when Paul was interrogated at Dakata Police station, he said he found the boy wandering around his house and that he was taking him to a radio station.
“But the tricycle driver told the police that the man contacted him to take him to New Road in Sabon-Gari area at the cost of N100 only. The conflicting statements by both of them compelled the police to dig further on the matter, which led to the remarkable achievement of recovering eight abducted kids and the arrest of eight suspected kidnappers.”
Chairman of the Protection Against the abduction of Our Children, Malam Isma’il Ibrahim Muhammad, confirmed to Daily Trust that the association is still receiving complaints of missing children from different parts of the state.
Muhammad, whose child Abubakar Isma’il was also abducted, called on the state and federal governments, as well as traditional leaders, to come to their aid in ensuring the rescue of their loved ones.
The chairman, who commended the police for their proactive stance, expressed hope that “If the government can intensify efforts, the remaining children would be found and subsequently rescued. We have 47 missing children on our list now and we want the government to find them and reunite them with their families.”