The wife of Gombe State Governor, Hajiya Asmau’u Yahaya, on Saturday visited the pediatric ward of Federal Teaching Hospital, Gombe, to sympathise with a 14-year-old boy, Nafiu Usman, whose feet were burnt over N80 worth of bread by one Abubakar Idris in Bajoga, Funakaye Local Government Area of Gombe State.
she described the victim’s case as Man’s inhumanity to Man.
Asmau’u stated, “I was really touched when I heard the story, I was sad. This is man’s inhumanity to man. I hope it will not happen again. As you can see we have already given a token, already the governor of Gombe State has promised that all medical charges will be paid.”
Nafiu’s feet were burnt on the 10th of December, 2019 for allegedly stealing bread at a Bakery. He only commenced proper treatment on January 9, 2020, at the Federal Teaching Hospital, Gombe.
A trauma nurse confirmed to our correspondent that his feet were already infected by the time he was brought in.
An investigation carried out earlier showed that he was receiving herbal treatment before they moved him to the General Hospital.
Nafiu confirmed to our correspondent that he actually entered the bakery for a cup of water and not to steal.
He said, “We were on our way back from the farm where we went to pick beans. It was on our way back that we stopped at the bakery to drink water. It was then the manager accused us of stealing N80 worth of bread. He snatched our beans and searched us but he didn’t find any bread.
“We were asked to call our mallam but we couldn’t find him so I was detained by the manager (Idris Abubakar) who is also the son of the owner of the bakery who wasn’t around at the time of the incident. Abubakar put my feet inside the charcoal oven.
Gombe State Governor Inuwa Yahaya, on Saturday, had also described as dehumanising and unjustifiable, the reported torture of the 14-year-old boy for allegedly stealing bread at a bakery in Bajoga, Funakaye Local Government Area of the state.
He also charged the people of the state to always report criminal activities to the Police rather than take the law into their hands.
Meanwhile, the Gombe State Police Command in a press statement signed by ASP Yusuf Balami, Deputy Police Relations Officer stated that the command is on top of the situation.
“Arrest was made, case was properly investigated and suspects arraigned at the Chief Magistrate court 2, Bajoga. The command will like to assure the general public that the police, will continue to discharge their constitutional mandate,” Balami said.
