A suspect, identified as Abiduna Amin, lost his life while in police custody at the Dutsen Tanshi police division.
The tragedy on Tuesday has ignited a firestorm of concern regarding human rights abuses within the police force. It has sparked a social media movement rallying under the hashtag #JusticeForAbidin.
Abiduna Amin, a resident of Karofi Bauchi and an animal dealer by occupation, became the focal point of a police interrogation.
According to sources, he was being questioned on suspicion of having purchased a stolen goat or ram. However, what began as a routine inquiry escalated dramatically when it was alleged that police officers subjected Abiduna Amin to severe physical violence, resulting in his untimely death while in police custody.
The news of Amin’s tragic demise spread like wildfire across social media platforms, with the hashtag #JusticeForAbidin quickly gaining immense traction on Facebook.
A groundswell of concerned citizens, activists, and human rights advocates have voiced outrage over the incident, pledging not to let this case fade into obscurity. The campaigners demand accountability and justice for the deceased, urging a thorough investigation into the circumstances surrounding his death.
Recognising the gravity of the situation, the Bauchi State Commissioner of Police took decisive action by summoning the Dutsen Tanshi Police Divisional Officer for a comprehensive inquiry into the incident.
However, at this juncture, police authorities have yet to release an official statement addressing the matter or providing specifics regarding the steps taken to address the officers involved.
On the unfortunate evening of August 24, 2023, around 8:30 p.m., a horrifying incident of police brutality unfolded in the peaceful neighborhood of Dabar Makaho, around Famfon Shanu, Azare Bauchi State of Nigeria. This incident serves as a shocking reminder of the abuse of power and the devastating consequences it can have on innocent lives.
It all began when a group of police officers, whose duty is to protect and serve the community, unlawfully used excessive force on an accused person. The officers, instead of conducting a proper arrest, resorted to violence, misusing their firearms, and hitting the accused with sticks.
Tragically, in the midst of this brutal act, an innocent young boy passing by became an unintended victim. The excessive force used by the police officers resulted in the boy suffering a severe eye injury, nearly causing the loss of his eye. This incident has undoubtedly left a traumatizing impact on the young boy’s life.
What is even more distressing is the apathy shown by the police officers involved. Instead of rushing the injured boy to the hospital for urgent medical attention, they callously neglected his wellbeing. This blatant disregard for human life is deeply concerning and raises serious questions about the values and principles these officers are supposed to uphold.
In a further display of aggression, when a concerned Good Samaritan attempted to intervene and bring attention to the officers’ wrongdoing and the critical condition of the young boy, they responded with further violence. It is shocking to witness those entrusted with maintaining law and order resorting to further brutality and attempting to silence those who speak out against injustice.
The victim, Usman Sa’idu, who is 13 years old.
The incident that occurred on August 24, 2023, is not an isolated event. Instances of police brutality have become all too common, leaving a trail of suffering and shattered lives in their wake. These incidents highlight the urgent need for robust reforms within law enforcement agencies. Comprehensive training programs focused on human rights, ethics, and de-escalation techniques must be developed and implemented to ensure that officers understand the importance of safeguarding the public and upholding the law.
Equally important is the establishment of effective mechanisms for reporting and addressing cases of police misconduct. It is essential for individuals who witness or experience such brutality to feel safe and confident in reporting these acts, knowing that appropriate action will be taken. Proper investigation and accountability measures must be in place to hold those responsible accountable for their actions.
As a society, we cannot stand idle and allow the abuse of power to continue. It is the collective responsibility of citizens, policymakers, and law enforcement agencies to work together to address these grave issues. This means fostering a culture of respect, transparency, and accountability within our police forces. Only then can we begin to rebuild trust between law enforcement and the communities they serve.
Furthermore, it is the duty of the government to prioritize the safety and well-being of its citizens by enacting legislation that protects individuals from the atrocities of police brutality. This legislation should provide clear guidelines on the appropriate use of force, ensure effective oversight mechanisms, and ensure that justice is served for victims of police misconduct.
The incident that took place on August 24, 2023, serves as a painful reminder of the urgent need for reform. It is a call to action for all stakeholders to work towards a future where every individual, regardless of age, gender, or social status, can feel safe and protected by those sworn to uphold the law.
Let us unite as a community to demand accountability, transparency, and justice for the victims of police brutality. Only then can we create a society where every person can live without fear of harm and where those in positions of authority carry out their duties with integrity and respect for human life.
Yakubu Ammar Sani wrote from Azare, Bauchi State and can be reached via -ammaryakubusani@gmail.com.
At least not fewer than four people were kidnapped yesterday by unknown gunmen in Zalau, Toro, Bauchi state.
Our source, who pleaded anonymity, narrated that the invaders arrived in Zalau town by 8:30 pm on Sunday, barricaded the town entry and started shooting air sporadically, heading to the village market square.
Dispersing the marketers, they abducted Aliyu Dahiru Sulaiman, Abdul Hogal, Dokas, and their brother. Also, Shamsudden Garba was shot, and he is now receiving medical treatment at the Abubakar Tabawa Balewa Teaching Hospital in Bauchi. Similarly, the abductors carted away people’s belongings, including phones, provisions, meets and fried yams.
The illegal operation was suspended by 9:30 pm, and shootings were nonstop due to zero security intervention.
It could be recalled that the gunmen, on Saturday, August 19, 2023, abducted two people and shot a security man in Gumau; the captives regained freedom yesterday, August 20, 2023.
Similarly, the gunmen shot another person in Fishere on Friday, August 18, 2023; the man who refused to follow the kidnappers to the jungle as they commanded him was shot in the head and died immediately. Also, a similar event occurred in Bargan Fulani and Salarma communities.
Since the beginning of this month, August, Toro and Lame districts have been facing a series of attacks from unknown gunmen leading to the loss of lives and properties of citizens.
Recently, in an interview with BBC Hausa, the member representing Toro federal constituency, Hon. Ismail Haruna Dabo, raised the alarm over the incessant event in the area and asked the federal and state governments to deploy security operatives to the site; hence the need is to protect lives and property of the citizens.
An effort was made to reach Toro police command when filing this report, but it was abortive due to undisclosed issues.
The Bauchi state government has assured a speedy renovation of some parts of the specialist hospital gutted recently by fire.
The development came when the state’s Commissioner of Health, Dr Adamu Umar Sambo, visited the hospital on Saturday.
The commissioner, who went there to see the nature of the work in the hospital, encouraged the workers to continue saving the lives of the people of Bauchi state with no hesitation.
Promising the work, the commissioner also assures the replacement of all burnt equipment in the hospital and does the needful to adjust the hospital bill and make it affordable to Bauchi citizens.
He further commended the effort of the workers for their contribution to improving the lives of Bauchi citizens. He pledged to continue supporting the workers best of his ability to bring the desired output to the state.
Preparations are underway as the Bauchi state chapter of the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) prepares to offer free surgical procedures to more than 200 patients afflicted with various ailments across the Toro local government area.
Dr Adamu Umar Sambo, the recently appointed Commissioner of Health in Bauchi, announced the initiative during a ceremonial event hosted by the Islamic Medical Association of Nigeria (IMAN) at the Toro chapter.
“The Medical Association of Nigeria, NMA, will soon offer free surgery to over 200 patients suffering from various diseases across Toro local government. The association will do this to express its happiness and to thank His Excellency Bala Muhammad Abdulkadir for appointing one of them as Bauchi health commissioner.”
The free surgeries are a gesture of appreciation for Dr Sambo’s appointment as the new Commissioner of Health and a tribute to Governor Bala Muhammad Abdulkadir for recognising Dr Sambo’s contributions to the medical field.
Dr Sambo, who formerly held the position of Chief Medical Officer at Toro General Hospital Toro and currently serves as the Bauchi Commissioner of Health, urging his successor, Dr Maryam Ahmad Abubakar, to build upon his achievements and collaborate closely with hospital unit officials to align with Bauchi state’s health sector objectives.
Similarly, Dan’zumi Abdulhamid, Chief Nursing Officer at Toro General Hospital, praised Dr Sambo’s accomplishments as the former Chief Medical Officer, highlighting advancements such as upgrading the hospital to a real general facility, provision of essential equipment including generators and X-ray machines, establishing a Covid-19 centre, a new theatre room, and the renovation of facilities including staff quarters and the Juma’at mosque.
On his part, Alhaji Aliyu Yakubu Lame, the district head of Lame, encouraged the Commissioner to work selflessly to drive development in the state. He equally commended the Governor for appointing two key commissioners from Toro and urged Dr Maryam Ahmad Abubakar to carry on Dr Sambo’s legacy.
The event was graced by the presence of the district heads of Toro, representatives from the Nigerian Medical Association, members of the Islamic Medical Association of Nigeria – Toro chapter, and other esteemed dignitaries.
Parents have been reminded of the need to play their parental role in providing qualitative education to their wards to curtail social vices.
Dr Abdullahi Jaji of Aminu Saleh College of Education Azare remarked while presenting a paper themed, the challenges of post-primary Education in Northern Nigeria: the Role of Stakeholders at the closing ceremony of the three-day annual quiz, debate and essay competition organised by MSSN Bauchi State Area Unit.
Dr Jaji, who spoke at length on the challenges of post-primary Education in Northern Nigeria, attributed the menace to the misplacement of priority by the parents. Hence the need for parents to shoulder all the responsibilities of their children’s education described knowledge as the bedrock of every development.
Earlier in his welcome address, the quiz coordinator of MSSN Bauchi state, Dr Muhammad Adamu Hamid, said the program was designed to improve the readiness of Muslim students in Bauchi State to face the Senior Secondary school Certificate Examination to meet world tertiary institution entry requirements in an examination malpractice free environment.
Dr Hamid, a lecturer with the Department of Mass Communication, Pen Resource University Gombe, charged the participants to double their efforts in seeking religious and Western education.
Speaking at the occasion, Amir of the MSSN Bauchi State Area Unit, Dr Rabi’u Barau Mball, applauded the efforts of the host communities for their job well done and urged the relevant authorities to continuously support the activities of MSSN at all levels for the speedy development of education and the state at large.
Dr Barau Mball, a lecturer with the Department of Sociology, Bauchi State University Gadau, used the medium and informed the public that the leadership of the society would host the 2023 National Islamic Vocation Course (IVC) hence the need for government support and all the sister agencies.
In their separate remarks at the occasion, Hon. Ahmed Mai Kudi Yaya, a member representing the Misau constituency in the State Assembly and Hajiya Bahijja Auwal Babaji, deputy chairman of Giade Local Government as well as the District Head of Giade represented by the Galadiman Giade, commended the state leadership of MSSN for organising the August, events and prayed for its sustenance.
The program, which draws participants from SS one and two of all secondary schools across the twenty local governments of the state, held at the Government Science Secondary school Giade, declared Katagum local government as the overall best, followed by Bauchi and Toro as Second and third, respectively.
The Bauchi State Civil Service Commission (CSC) has taken a decision in fighting corruption as it announced the dismissal of Ibrahim Garba, Chief Secretariat Assistant attached to the State Pension Board.
The decision was made on August 1, 2023, at the Commission’s Conference Hall during its 17th plenary session.
Ibrahim Garba was fired as a result of his involvement in wage and pension fraud, which the Commission judged to be gross misconduct.
Public Service Rules (PSR) 0327 (XI), which expressly handle matters of financial embezzlement, were judged to have been directly violated by his acts.
Ibrahim Garba’s attempt to illegally syphon pension funds was discovered during the disciplinary procedure.
He altered the late Audu Mohammed’s account information, replacing it with his own account information.
Then, after the deceased’s relative reported the death, he was able to adjust the pay point.
Ibrahim Garba was able to obtain an unauthorised pension for an astonishing fifty-five (55) months at a cost of N54,871.26 per month, thanks to this fraudulent behaviour.
This fraud continued for a total of four years and seven months and resulted in the theft of N3,017,919.30.
The new Bauchi Commissioner of Health, Dr Sambo Umar Adamu, has charged Bauchi youths to be productive and peace ambassadors of their respective communities to bring the desired development to the state.
The disclosure was made at his Magama residence when he received the delegation of the Magama Youth Forum on a congratulatory visit. Expressing his happiness over the visit, Dr Sambo assures his readiness to work closely with youths to bring much-needed development to the state, particularly in the health sector.
Further, Dr Sambo said his door will always be open for consultations on moving Bauchi state to the greater pedestal. He added that Governor. Bala Muhammad’s administration was an inclusive regime. Therefore, he promised to learn from his footsteps by carrying everybody along, irrespective of party, religion and tribal affiliations, for the sustenance of peace and to bring progress to the state.
In his remark, the acting chairman of Magama Youth Forum, Malam Isma’il Abubakar Najjar, asserted that the visit aimed to felicitate with Dr Sambo on his appointment as the new Bauchi state commissioner of health as well as pray for more success in the distant future.
Malam Najjar said Magama Youth Forum are ready to give maximum support and cooperation to the new commissioner to perform his responsibilities to revamp the Bauchi health sector.
While making his comment, the acting assistant secretary of the Magama Youth Forum, Comrade Abubakar Abdulkarim Jibrin, appealed to the new commissioner to consider the union at a time of enjoying the democratic dividend as well as shun nepotism by giving equal opportunity to the entire citizens of the state.
The visit had in attendance chairmen and secretaries of various associations within Magama and its environs.
The collapse of a mining site in the hamlet of Kogo Kadage, located in the Yadagungume neighbourhood of the Ningi Local Government Area of Bauchi State, resulted in the deaths of four illegal miners.
The tragedy occurred on Saturday night while the miners dug up lead and attempted to remove it.
According to an anonymous source, they had been mining and excavating lead, one of the local mineral resources, for more than a month when, all of a sudden, one of the holes they had excavated collapsed and buried them beneath.
He noted that as the four miners were taken away from the collapsed site, they passed away instantly.
Ibrahim Zubairu, the chairman of the caretaker committee for the Ningi LGA, described the incident as tragic and sad, stating that three of the four people who were trapped in the pit perished instantly.
According to him, the illegal mining facility is situated seven kilometres from Yadagungume town in the Kogo Kadage forest.
“Yesterday (Saturday), I was informed that four people were trapped in a mining pit, I directed that they should be rescued. Later on, they reported back to me that they recovered three bodies.
“I don’t know about the illegal activities of the locals because we have banned all sorts of illegal mining in the entire local government area, it came to me as a surprise when I got the report of the incidence,” he said.
Years back, people saw it as taboo to question or criticise what religious scholars said, regardless of how illogical it sounded. However, as people started becoming wiser and more educated, they discovered that religious scholars, as fellow human beings, can understand and misunderstand laws, ministerial statements and concepts. Thus their comments are subject to verification, reconstruction and even falsification.
What happened to Sheikh Abduljabbar Nasiru Kabara that led to his imprisonment in Kano due to his inability to defend his speeches that were considered blasphemous serves as a motivative factor for holding religious scholars accountable for their actions and inaction.
Many people see the case of a known Bauchi-based Islamic scholar Sheikh Idris Abdulazeez as similar to Sheikh Abduljabbar’s, which led to the imprisonment of Sheikh Idris too. But is Sheikh Idris indeed being imprisoned for blasphemy or political reasons?
To answer this question, I take us back to some historical antecedents. Sheikh Idris Abdulazeez is a religious scholar who sees himself as a representative of his people and believes that as a citizen of Nigeria should be politically active to improve efficiency in governance and promote the welfare of the citizenry.
Sheikh Idris supported and criticised political leaders, which seems to be for the public good; the scholar condemned the state government’s actions when Barr. Mohammed Abdullahi Abubakar SAN who believed in the constitution, the application of the rule of law and the whole exercise and grant of human rights, was the state’s governor from 2015-2019.
The Sheikh saw the then leadership as dust to the people of the state, thus needing elimination. And the then governor allowed him to voice out his opinions as an indigene of the state; the scholar condemned the ruled APC government and endorsed the incumbent state’s governor under the platform of PDP.
After the victory of the incumbent governor of the state Sen. Bala Mohammed Abdulkadir, in the 2019 general election, the government started doing activities contrary to what the scholar believed to be right; for this, he began criticising the government and was tagged as an enemy. In the recent 2023 general elections, the scholar directed his followers to vote for the former Nigerian Chief Of Air Staff Baba Sadiq (Air Marshall) of the All progressive congress (APC), against his counterpart Sen. Bala Mohammed of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP). Bala Mohammed got re-elected.
Some see the case which led to the imprisonment of the religious scholar as revenge for he was not allowed to defend his statements, like what happened to Sheikh Abduljabbar in Kano, where Islamic scholars of different sects were gathered for him to intellectually defend himself in a public which failure to do so bagged his imprisonment.
Most people believe that not allowing Sheikh Idris Abdulazeez to defend himself originated from the fact that he has legal evidence for his statement and how deeply educated religious scholars influx into Bauchi from several states to attest to his statement before the organised debate was cancelled due to these reasons which could set the scholar free. He was later taken to court and got jailed. Not Sheikh Idris alone, who is in jail for nearly a month over the so-called public disturbance. This week, Some traditional rulers have been dethroned by the state governor for what he describes as “involvement in partisan politics” during the 2023 general election.
Someone who can’t endure opposition shouldn’t go into politics in a democratic state.
Zaharaddeen Muhammad Azare writes from Bauchi state and can be reached via zahmuhaza@gmail.com.
