Sunday, January 9, 2017 will remain a day Mudassir Isah, 27, will never forget in his life. On that fateful day, as he and his friend, Zayyanu Garba, 27, were gathering firewood at the residence of Mai-Jega, the former chairman of Jega Local Government, 12 men who posed as security agents suddenly emerged from nowhere and ordered the two friends to follow them, saying they were under arrest.
Unfortunately, only Mudassir was able to make it alive out of the house where they were taken to. Garba allegedly died as a result of the dehumanising manner their abductors subjected them to.
Read according to Daily Trust;
The torture and murder incident is currently generating tension in the ancient town of Jega as families of the victims, particularly those of the late Garba, have vowed never to give up on the issue until justice is done to their late son.
Lamenting the death of his son, Abubakar Tafida Jega told Daily Trust on Sunday that, “I went with my friend to the police station to report the matter. The police accompanied us to where they dumped my son’s body like an animal along Jega-Sokoto road. The police and I carried him to the hospital where the doctor confirmed him dead. He also carried out an autopsy, which confirmed that he died as a result of persistent beating and torture.”
Garba’s father continued, “I am not happy with what is happening; the investigation by the police is too slow. Do you know that up till now, the suspects have not been arrested by the police? They still go about their normal activities. I complained to the police but they told me that the matter was before the Criminal Investigation Department (CID). I went to the CID office to lodge the same complaint, but they also asked me to return to the police so that the suspects, Attah and Mubarak, could be arrested.”
Not satisfied with the way the case is being handled by the police, his family members have decided to take the matter to the Human Rights Commission in Sokoto, insisting that all they want is justice.
Narrating his harrowing experience in the hands of the men who tortured him and his late friend, Isah said, “On Sunday, just after the Magrib prayer, my friend, Zayyanu Garba, came to ask me to accompany him to town. I told him that I would only follow him after taking my bath and that he would accompany me to get some firewood to boil the water. As we were picking the firewood at the residence of Mai-Jega, the former chairman of Jega Local Government, suddenly, 12 people descended on us, saying that we were under arrest.
“I could recognise one of them; his name is Attah. We asked them why we were arrested, but they said they would not say anything until we reached their office.
“They tied my hands and legs and hanged me upside down. My head was downwards while my legs were tied upwards on an iron hanger that was fitted to the ceiling. After that, they started beating me mercilessly while my friend was made to watch. They continued to beat and manhandle me in that situation up to a point that my hands and fingers became fisted together and could no longer be separated. Luckily, for me, suddenly somebody called Magaji entered. He told them that what they were doing was wrong and it could lead to my death. He pleaded with them to untie me and allow me to rest. They agreed and untied me for some time. At that point, I was devastated; I could not even stand. I fell several times while attempting to stand up, but they insisted that I must remain standing or they would continue. I begged them to allow me lie on the floor because I could not stand. They finally agreed to allow me lie on the floor and they turned to my friend, Zayyanu. They hanged him upside down the way they did to me. His head was upside down while his legs were tied to the hanger on the ceiling. They beat him mercilessly as they did to me. As they continued torturing him he shouted and cried, begging them to stop because he could no longer bear the pains. As he cried, he begged, saying, ‘For God’s sake stop beating me. Wallahi I will die if you do not stop the torture.’ But they continued. Because of the pains, he said he was ready to confess to whatever they wanted. He begged them in the name of God to have mercy on him, but they refused. One of them called Attah shouted at him to keep quiet. I think because of the misunderstanding he had some time ago with Zayyanu’s friend, he vowed that he would pay dearly or even die. Attah’s elder brother came in to warn him to stop because they may end up killing Zayyanu, but he became angry and asked him to stay out of the matter.
“They later untied him, but he could no longer stand up because we were tortured throughout the night. By 3am when they became tired of torturing us and it seemed they wanted to sleep, they called three boys to look after us. As God would have it, the three boys slept off, so I whispered to my friend and told him that we should escape. He said there was no way he could walk again because he had sustained serious injuries on his waist and legs. He said, ‘Mudassir, wallahi, I don’t think I am going to survive this torture. I am going to die here, just leave me and escape please.’
“l did my best to convince him to manage and come with me even if I would hold him, but he could not stand up again. He said I should tell his parents the calamity that befell him. So I managed to escape from that room and hide somewhere in the compound where I started vomiting. I stayed there for an hour. I noticed they came with a vehicle and started dragging a body which I suspected was that of Zayyanu. I suspected they killed him when they learnt of my escape.
“I trekked through the Fadama area at the outskirts of the town for fear being caught. When I got home I explained all that happened to my mother and requested to be allowed to go to Zayyanu’s house and inform his parents of what happened to their son, but she refused, saying they may kill me along the way.
“My mother later took me to my uncle in the village to inform him of the situation so that he would know that my life was in danger. On our way to the village we saw a lifeless body, and I told her that it must be Zayyanu’s remains. She didn’t believe what she saw. I told her that I could recognise his cloths, so we moved closer and discovered that the lifeless body was my friend’s.
“I rushed to tell his father, but he didn’t believe me. He thought I was joking. But I opened my shirt and showed him the wound they inflicted on my back and hands. That was when he believed me, saying that those who did that to me were capable of killing his son.
“We reported the matter to the police and I was asked why we were subjected to the torture that even led to his death. I told them that I didn’t know, but I could recall that sometime ago, one Mallam Hassan approached me and the late Zayyanu, saying he wanted to engage in homosexuality with him, and if he could not do that with him, he could take him to his bosses who could give him money and anything he wanted if he agreed to do it with them. He mounted pressure on my friend to accept his offer at an appointed place. Zayyanu tricked him into thinking that he accepted the offer. When Mallam Hassan came to meet Zayyanu in the room, I was hiding inside. He pulled off his cloth and wanted to start the act when I suddenly came out. We grabbed his cloth. He tried so much to collect his cloth from us and even offered N23,000, but we refused. He begged us to return his cloth, wristwatch, mobile phone and the motorcycle he came on. He also pleaded that we should not disclose the matter to anybody and added N10,000 to make it N37,000. I am sure this was the reason why they planned to arrest me and my friend who died in their hands.
“We pleaded with the authorities to investigate this matter and ensure that justice is done. But those who tortured us and finally killed my friend and dumped his body along Sokoto road by the entrance of Jega town are still walking freely in the community.”
Mallam Mayanai Dangaladima, who witnessed the agonising moments of Mudassir and Zayyanu while in the captivity of their abductors said, “Wallahi, I swear to God, if you see the way Attah reacted against me when I asked them to stop torturing the late Zayyanu that fateful day, you would be surprised. He said I was lucky because I was his relative, otherwise he would have messed me up. When I arrived at the scene, they were still beating the boys and I begged them to stop, but they refused. A woman called Uwar Auwalu also came to beg them to untie the boys. Others who came to beg them include Yar Bala and Ubandoma, but they refused. They continued to beat Zayyanu until he couldn’t talk again, yet they didn’t stop. When they called his name three times and he did not answer, I suspected he must have died. About 12 midnight I went with one Ubandoma to take my motorcycle. When I flashed my motorcycle light in the room, Zayyanu’s body was still hanging upside down while Attah and the others were at one end of the room. According to what I was told, about 3 am they decided on what to do with his body. They used Bala’s car to take away his body.
“Early in the morning, somebody called to inform me that the boy was dead. I suspected that they killed him around 12 midnight and took his body away around 3 am. Sincerely, this was what happened and I am ready to give evidence even in court.”
After several attempts by our correspondent, the police public relations officer, Birnin Kebbi command, ASP Mustapha Suleiman, confirmed the incident, saying that Zayyanu’s body was found along Sokoto road in Jega.
“Is it not the matter at Jega? The office of those who committed the offence is just located near the district head’s palace. He was not in the palace when the incident happened. Our investigation did not indict him of any offence in respect of the incident and it is already in court,” he said.
When our correspondent visited the district head’s palace for reactions, one of his aides said he would not be able to see him on this matter.
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