Bauchi State Police Command has confirmed the arrest of one Khadija Adamu, a housewife aged 18, for allegedly killing Hafsat Garba, her five-year-old stepdaughter.
This was made public recently by the Bauchi State Commissioner of Police, Auwal Musa Mohammad, during a press briefing with journalists at the Command Headquarters in Bauchi. He disclosed that the suspect beat up 5-year old Hafsat Garba for defecating on her clothes.
The Police Commissioner said, “One Abdulaziz Adamu, aged 38 years of Kandahar area Bauchi, reported at A’ Divisional Police Headquarters that on the same date at about 1600hrs, one Khadija Adamu, aged 18 years of the same address, beat up her stepdaughter named “Hafsat Garba” aged 5 years. As a result, she sustained serious injuries on her body.
“Upon receipt of the report, a team of detectives led by the DPO, swung into action, rushed to the scene and moved the victim to Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University Teaching Hospital (ATBUTH) Bauchi for medical attention, where she was certified dead by the medical doctor.
“Preliminary Investigations revealed that the suspect beat up the victim as a result of alleged passing of stool that soiled her clothes, leading to her sustaining various degrees of injuries on her body.
“During interrogation, the suspect confessed to the alleged offence against her without much argument. Investigation is still ongoing, after which the suspect will be charged to court for the established offence accordingly.”
In answering questions from our correspondent, Khadija who is 4 months pregnant, admitted the offence, saying she did not intend to kill the victim, but was trying to correct her.
“Yes, I beat her with charger cable not with the intention of killing her, but to correct her bad action for stooling all over her body when she is old enough to know the right thing to do.
“I did not know that she was injured until the next morning when she woke up feeling sick and she was taken to the hospital where she was confirmed dead. It was not a deliberate thing. How will I kill her when I have my own child and I am pregnant with another one,” she said.
In a disturbed manner, Khadija corrected an insinuation going round that she killed the little girl out of jealousy and hatred. “Why would I have hated her, or be jealous of what? It was just a mistake coupled with religious belief that it was her destiny to die at that time and that I would be the cause of her death, nothing more”, she emphasised.
