‘You’re Too Poor To Do Anything’ – Bauchi Who Raped, Impregnated 13-Yr-Old Girl

Hafsat Muhammed, the mother of a 13-year-old girl(names withheld) abused and impregnated by an elderly tailor, is calling for justice.

Hafsat said the tailor, one Babayo, who raped and impregnated her daughter, a Junior Secondary School, JSS, student of Central Junior Secondary School, Angwan Bakin Kasuwa, Misau Local Government Area, Bauchi State, said they are too poor to do anything to him.

Speaking with Vanguard, Hafsat Muhammed said she and her family were molested by Babayo, who was unwilling to grant them audience when they went to confront him with the rape and eight-month pregnancy of their teenage daughter.

Her story:

“I am not happy about the situation. We went to confront Babayo with the allegations our daughter levelled against him. But he welcomed us with so much disgust and contempt, and that we are too poor and couldn’t do anything to him.

“I am grateful that people have taken up the case for us, because honestly I wouldn’t have known what to do. The pregnancy is telling on her. It is eight months now and we cannot even feed ourselves let alone prepare for the baby’s arrival.

“My daughter is facing the hardest part of her life because of someone’s wickedness.”

While asking for justice for her daughter, Hafsat begged for help from Bauchi State government and well-meaning people to help her with prayers and financial contributions to enable her take care of her daughter and the baby she’s expecting.

“I want justice for my daughter because the person who put us in this situation is walking free on our streets. I also want to ask for assistance from our people-loving governor and other well-meaning Nigerians to come to our aid with their prayers and financial contributions to enable us overcome this dilemma.”

‘He gave me N50 for biscuit’

The pale-looking pregnant teenager, who spoke with difficulty, commended Prison Inmates Development Initiative, PIDI, an NGO concerned with human rights issues, for its support.

Executive Director of PIDI, Mbami Iliya Sabka, disclosed that the pregnant minor hawked ‘pure water’. His words: “She sold pure water to support her poor parents after school hours.

The suspect always sent her on errands for his tailoring materials and whenever she returned, he would always give her a N50 tip.

“The victim told us, in December 2018 or thereabout, Babayo took her to an uncompleted building owned by his elder brother, locked the gate, forced her to take off her clothes and abused her sexually.

“He threatened her to not tell anyone, after which he gave her N50 to buy biscuit for herself.”

PIDI further told Vanguard that they have since sent a petition to the Commissioner of Police in Bauchi and the National Human Rights Commission to investigate the matter and bring the perpetrator to account for his deeds.

‘It wasn’t me’

Meanwhile, when Vanguard sought the suspect’s reaction, he said:

“I am not responsible for that pregnancy,”

after which he restricted his answers to mono-syllabic “Yes” and “No.” On contacting the Police to find out if they did receive a petition concerning the alleged rape, the Police Public Relations Officer, Kamal Datti, said:

“I will get back to you. I think the case is over a month old now.”

Several hours later, the Police was yet to respond even after being told that the report was urgent.

Vanguard gathered that the victim’s father, who is physically-challenged, depended on the enterprise of his wife and teenage daughter for survival.