Herbalist arrested for assaulting and mutilating five year-old

The arrest of a man who sexually assaulted a five-year-old girl before mutilating her vagina for rituals has put Adamawa state on the spot.

Doctors say the little girl, survivor of the gruesome attack (name withheld), will require reconstruction of her vagina because of the severity of the mutilation by the suspect, identified as Kunini Jacob.

The commissioner of police in Adamawa State, Adenrele Shinaba who led the parade of Mr Jacob and an herbalist behind the ritual plot, said there will no longer be a resting place for criminals in the state.

Mr Jacob (23), was arrested along with his mother who was allegedly shielding him from security agents. Incidentally, the suspect was only recently released from jail after serving a three-year jail sentence for a related offence.

Mr Jacob told journalists his action was “the work of the devil” and that he was acting on the instruction of an herbalist who told him to procure the intestine of a virgin along with her private part for ritual to give him instant wealth.

Mr Shinaba said Zidon Digga, at Dong Village in Bidoma Development Area of Adamawa state, reported to the police two weeks ago that his five-year-old daughter was missing. He said the little girl was later found in a pool of her blood and rushed to the state Specialist Hospital for treatment.

Azubike Chuks, leader of the doctors that carried out two sets of emergency surgeries on the child, said when she was brought in, her intestine was outside and that the first operation was to return the intestine.

The report showed that the thin layer separating her vagina and rectum was mutilated by the attacker. The doctor said a third operation is needed to join the two parts together.

Police investigation, however, led to the arrest of the suspect, as well as the herbalist, Mijinyawa Bala of Dong village. But Mr Bala distanced himself from the crime, saying he did not instigate the main suspect to commit the crime.

The police boss said the suspects will be charged to court for the offence of criminal conspiracy, house trespass, kidnapping, rape and attempt to commit culpable homicide.

The young victim is now at the Yola specialist centre awaiting a third surgery. But Mr Azuibike said this will cost several hundred of thousands, which neither the hospital or the child’s family could afford.

“We appealed to public-spirited persons to help and so far only N20,000 has come in,” he told NEXT

Culture of silence.

Recently, the state education board dismissed two teachers found guilty of committing paedophilic acts on pupils under their care. One was a head teacher who impregnated one of a female pupil in one of the sub-urban primary schools in Jimeta, while the other involved a teacher in one of the special schools in Jada.

Bakari Adamawa, state chairman of the state universal basic education board blamed what he called “the culture of silence” for the prevalence of sexual abuse of minors in the state.

“We have called the education secretaries and warned them that they should live up to their duties,” he said. “They should make sure head teachers are aware of what is happening in their schools.

“We are coming out with new codes of conduct for teachers and we are also going to carry put special training for teachers on how to handle children. There was another investigation which we couldn’t conclude because the parent didn’t want to talk about it. You know some parents really don’t want to talk about it. It is a really sad experience and they don’t want to recall it.”

NEXT CARES: Attack survivor needs financial help for vagina reconstruction at Yola Specialist Hospital, Yola, Adamawa State. Members of the public who wish to help can call 07034859567.

Source: Next Newspaper