A man Haruna Daniel Babuwa 50-year-old has been accused of raping a 12-year-old girl in Gabar Da Kasuwa community, Potiskum Local Government Area of Yobe State.
The victim was on Monday, April 25, 2022, sent on an errand to a nearby kiosk by her mother when Babuwa accosted and raped her, warning her not to disclose the incident to anyone.
Apart from forcibly having canal knowledge of the young girl, sources told Sahara Reporters that Babuwa also threatened to kill her parent, after he was accused of rape.
He subsequently offered N150,000 to the family after he was arrested by the police.
A medical report of the victim seen by Sahara Reporters showed that there was damage to her ovary and other reproductive organs.
According to her, last Monday was the fourth time Babuwa would be raping her.
“He do give me N100, sometimes N200 before forcefully having sex with me,” the victim said.
Narrating how the incident happened, a resident of the community said, “The victim's family is in the very poor category in our community, the father is a wheelbarrow pusher. None of their family members is educated, so they did not know how to voice out the incident. They don’t know how they can be heard and get the justice they deserve. That’s why I and other community members decided to give a helping hand.
“The incident was committed on Monday 25/04/2022. According to the child's mother, the victim was sent by her mother to buy something at closeby shop in the afternoon and didn’t come back home until around 5 pm, the mother started to interrogate the child as to where she had been and at the end, the child narrated to the mother that it was the perpetrator called Haruna Daniel Babuwa aka Haruna Akul that called her to his house and did what he did to her. The mother immediately took the child to the police station in Potiskum and the police took them to the hospital.
“The medical report indicated that there was penetration and they confirmed that the penetration was fresh. Even though the family is poor, with the support from the community they have vowed to stand firm on this case until they get justice for their child, even if the case will be publicised, they will not regret it as long as they will get justice.
“The police arrested the perpetrator and transferred the case to CID in the state capital, Damaturu. The victim’s family was offered N150,000 by the perpetrator to withdraw the case or they will lose the case and the money but the community members have mounted pressure on the victim’s family not to back down because this is not the first time the perpetrator would be accused of such immorality.
“The victim’s family is supposed to have been informed by the police about any progress in the case but they were only contacted on Friday, 29/04/2022, that there would be a court sitting when the case had already been heard and bail had been granted upon their arrival in Damaturu and without their knowledge.”