Group accuses Katsina Emir of illegally marrying off kidnapped Christian girl to her abductor

A group under the aegis of Hausa Christian Foundation (HAFCO), has accused the Emir of Katsina, Abdulmumini Kabir, of illegally marrying off a kidnapped Christian teenager, Aisha Mani, to her abductor, one Mohammed Samaila, without her family’s consent.

In a post on its Facebook page on Sunday, HACFO said the monarch forcefully married off the 16-year-old girl to Samaila who had abducted her despite police efforts to rescue her and a petition against him by a law firm.

The foundation narrated how the Emir connived with the District Head of Kafur in Kafur local government area of the state, Abdulrahman Rabe, to perpetrate the unlawful act.

HAFCO added that the victim was relocated from her home in Gidan Dandada by her parents to live with her relatives in Funtua after they suspected she was having romantic relationships with Samaila.

However, the teenager was said to have gone missing from Funtua and after long hours of search, the case was reported to the police.

“Two days later, on February 12, 2021, Aisha’s parents received a call from the District Head of Kafur, telling them to stop searching for Aisha because she was safe with him in his house. He claimed that one Idris Shehu brought her to his house,” HACFO wrote.

Continuing, the foundation said:

“Rabe disregarded Aisha family’s plea that she be returned and refused them access to her on the grounds that she wanted to convert to Islam.

“Rabe later called Aisha’s parents after 10 days, stating that her abductor wanted to marry her, but that they refused, insisting that due process must be followed.

“However, Rabe went ahead to arrange a marriage between Aisha and Mohammed Samaila without the consent and approval of Aisha’s family.

“The Area Commander told the District Head not to go ahead with the marriage plans between Aisha and Samaila, but the district head ignored the warning.

“The agreement was that Aisha should be brought to the police station, but the district head ignored the agreement.

“Instead, the girl was taken to the Emir of Katsina the same day the district head was supposed to take her to the police station, and on reaching there, the Emir of Katsina joined Aisha and Samaila in marriage without the consent of her parents.

“This is not the first time the predominantly Muslim community would be oppressing native Christian Hausas, forcefully abducting their daughters for marriage without parental or family consent.

Read also: Gunmen attack palace, kidnap Ekiti monarch

“By our calculation, a total of nine girls have been abducted and forced into marriage. One of such ladies was returned to her family after she ran mad; another was returned dead, while another was returned to her parents with a pregnancy.

“Names of such abductees are Jamima Solomon, Christiana Mamman, Deborah Habila, Phoebe Dankano, Rifkatu Markus, Saratu Isah (returned after she ran mad after two years), Dije Yakubu Nalami (abducted as a married woman, and returned when she died), Rebeccah Ado (returned pregnant) and Aisha Mani (currently in captivity).

“All these incidents are always swept under the carpet in Rafin Iyaka Sabuwar Kasa, Kafur local government area of Katsina.

“Despite a petition filed by lawyers to Aisha’s parents to the police through the Malumfashi Area Command, demanding the arrest, investigation and prosecution of Rabe and Samaila, the police has done nothing to secure the release of Aisha.

“Both Kabir and Rabe, on several occasions, abuse human rights and do everything possible to stop the constitutionally recognised law enforcement agencies like the police from rightly carrying out their statutory duties.

“Rabe had been involved in supporting similar acts right from the time of his father, who died years ago and was also backed by the Emir of Katsina.”

When Ripples Nigeria put a call to the Katsina State police spokesperson, DSP Gambo Isa, to get a confirmation on the weighty allegations against the Emir, he said he was not aware of the incident as it has not been officially reported by the NGO or the parents of the girl.

“I’m not aware of the matter; I don’t know because it was not reported by the NGO or the parents of the alleged victim.

“But we are looking into it and if we confirm its authenticity, I will get back to you. For now, I cannot confirm the NGO’s report,” Isa said.

A message sent to HAFCO through their Facebook contact was not replied at the time of this report while efforts to contact the spokesman of the Emir of Katsina, Ibrahim Bindawa also proved abortive.

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