- A 13-year-old girl, Hauwa Dadi, has finally regained her freedom, after being abducted for a forced marriage
- The girl was allegedly kept in the Emir’s palace, after a boy in her class had insisted on marrying her
- Hauwa reportedly regained her freedom after a civil rights organization blew the lid on the abduction plot and vowed to get to the bottom of the matter
Four days after her abduction for a forced marriage, a 13-year-old girl, Hauwa Dadi, has finally regained her freedom, Punch reports.
Hauwa is a daughter of a former secretary of the Christian Association of Nigeria, and is an SS1 student.
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NAIJ.com gathers that she regained her freedom on Sunday, November 5, after being abducted for ‘Islamic evangelism’, and allegedly kept at the Emir of Gashua’s palace.
The alleged plot to force the teenager into marriage was made public by Stefanos Foundation, a civil rights organization, which vowed to pursue the case till its conclusion.
Hauwa’s release was confirmed by her brother, Jonathan Dadi, who stated: “I am pleased to inform you that my sister has been released to us.
“The Emir ordered that my sister, Hauwa Dadi, should be released to us. But we signed an undertaking that she should not be punished.
“We have just left the Emir’s palace.”
Joseph Aloefuna, the area commander of the Gashua Police, also shed more light into the matter as he confirmed the case.
He stated: “I wasn’t directly involved but the DPO said he was involved and he confirmed that he was invited into the matter.
“There was this boy who was said to have insisted on marrying the girl (Hauwa). They are in the same school. The matter was reported to the school management and the boy was punished and warned to stop harassing the girl.
“Later, the girl was abducted and the boy was the prime suspect. The boy was arrested but claimed that the girl ran to the Emir’s palace because she wanted to convert to Islam.
“The Emir took her to the Chief Imam; the Chief Imam said the girl was scared but he was asked to take her to the welfare officials instead of keeping her in his custody.
“We took the statement of everybody concerned. The Chief Imam said there was going to be a meeting on the matter.”
Hauwa’s mother had also narrated how the event unfolded, before her daughter was eventually released.
She stated: “On Thursday afternoon, I had a meeting in ECWA Church, Gashua. Her twin brother, Zachariah, took wheelbarrow to fetch water for us.
"My daughter removed her uniform, put on her personal clothes and left. When one of her sisters asked her where she was going, Hauwa said she was going to fetch water with Zachariah and disappeared.
“But before the incident, there has been one boy who claimed to love her and wanted to marry her. He told her to convert to Islam.”
Hauwa’s mother was later informed that her daughter had been taken to the Imam of Gashua, Babu Alkali Mamman, and went in serach of her.
She then reported the matter at the Gashua Police Command, and the Imam was subsequently invited for questioning.
Upon arrival however, the Imam reportedly appealed to the officers to allow him participate in the Jumma’at prayers before returning, but he never came back.
The girl’s mother was later invited by the Imam’s lawyers, to the Emir’s palace.
However, at the palace, the woman was allegedly prevented from seeing her daughter or the Emir.
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In a related development, NAIJ.com previously reported that a 14-year-old girl, Maimuna Abdullahi, told her story after being married and divorced to a man that was twice her age.
In late 2012, Maimuna who grew up on the outskirts of Kaduna, was sold into marriage by her parents for £120 (N35,000).
Her father, Haruna Abdullahi arranged for her to be married to his friend's eldest son, Saidu who was twice her age. At that time she was 13 years of age.
Should a woman live with a man she's not married to? - on NAIJ.com TV:
Source: Naija.ng