The Kaduna State Schools Quality Assurance Authority (KSSQA) on Friday shut down two Islamiyah schools indefinitely over cases of alleged rape and impregnation of two girls.
According to NAN, Madrasatul Ulumul Deeniya wa Tahfizul Qur’an, one of the schools located in Rigasa, was closed over the alleged rape of a six-year-old girl inside the school premises.
The other Islamiyah school, located at Tsohon Masallacin Juma’a in Kachia, was also closed following the alleged impregnation of a 12-year-old girl by a 50-year-old teacher at the school.
Idris Aliyu, the overseer of the KSSQA, said the six-year-old girl was violated within the school premises. He also said that the school authority allegedly covered it up and claimed ignorance of the incident.
Aliyu added that the information before the ministry of education showed that the victim’s grandmother went to the school authority to complain, but was allegedly beaten by students and teachers.
He said Nasir el-Rufai, the state governor, had ordered that the Islamiyah be shut down indefinitely until an investigation is concluded and the culprit produced.
He added that the headmaster of the school would be held responsible for the act until all persons in the school were profiled and the perpetrator identified by the girl.
“The individuals responsible for the violence against the grandmother, especially the headmaster, will also be prosecuted,” he said.
“This is in line with the state government’s responsibility in protecting the vulnerable population in the state.”
In his reaction, Kabir Abdullahi, the headteacher of the school, Kabir Abdullahi, denied the allegation, saying “it is not rape. What we gathered is that an unidentified boy injured the girl in her private part with a stick.”
Abdullahi said that the case was already being investigated by Abubakar Bauranya, the divisional police officer (DPO), Rigasa.
On his part, the DPO confirmed receiving the case and equally aligned with the narrative of the headteacher of the Islamiyah school.
But Batul Gambo, the grandmother of the girl, insisted that her grandchild was violated and had been confirmed by the sexual assault referral centre, Yusuf Dantsoho Memorial Hospital Tudun Wada, Kaduna.
A medical report signed by a doctor and obtained by NAN also confirmed Gambo’s claim that the six-year-old was raped.
The doctor’s report attributed the bleeding to “virginal bruising of the labia minora, bilaterally periureteral bruising, hematoma of the clitoris and laceration of the hymen.”
On the rape and impregnation of the 12-year-old girl in Kachia, Aliyu said that the little child is six months pregnant.
He said that the school was equally closed as directed by el-Rufai, stressing that the safety of the pupils could not be guaranteed.
He added that Hafsat Baba, the commissioner of human services and social development, and Halima Lawal, the commissioner for education, would work closely with the police to investigate and ensure justice.
“Meanwhile, the two schools will remain closed until investigations are concluded and the culprit prosecuted in accordance with the law,” he said.
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