My Daughter ’ s Life Has Been Destroyed – Mother of girl r *ped by policeman for six days

The photograph of a policeman , Cpl . Bara ’ u Garba, who allegedly abducted and defiled a teenager , Maryam Yusuf , went viral recently . The mother of the teenager , Fatima Abdullahi , shares her pains with The Punch ’ s Motunrayo Joel who sought out the family .

What is your name ?

I am Fatima Abdullahi . I retain my maiden name as it is a practice in Hausa . Yusuf is my husband ’ s name , so my daughter expectedly takes it as her surname .

What is your occupation ?

I am unemployed at the moment .

Where do you live ?

I stay at the Hausa Quarters in Asaba , Delta State .

How many children do you have?

I have four children – three females and a male .

What is Maryam ’ s position among your children ?

Maryam is my first child and daughter.

Where is Maryam at the moment ?

She is beside me as we talk though asleep .

Tell us what transpired on the day your daughter was allegedly abducted as she narrated to you since she wasn ’ t allowed to speak with us .

That day wasn ’ t the first day I was sending Maryam on an errand , but sadly , it was the day her life changed forever. I still remember waking up that morning and preparing breakfast for my children . Maryam ’ s father and I had the intention of sending her to Onitsha market for a while but we didn ’ t have the money to buy what we wanted . As soon as we were able to get little cash , I called Maryam that morning and asked her to go to Onitsha market to buy curtains for our house . I gave her some money . I warned her to be careful while walking round the market so as not to lose the money .

On getting to Onitsha , she alighted from the bus and as she was about to board another bus to Onitsha market , she realised that she had lost the money . I believe she lost the money while on the bus .

Don ’ t you think Maryam is too young to travel from Asaba to Onitsha alone ?

Asaba to Onitsha is not far ; it is a few minutes’ drive especially if there is no traffic . If the distance was much , I wouldn ’ t send her .

What happened after she couldn’ t find the money ?

She began to walk to and fro the bus park in search of the money and to get help . That was when the police officer , who allegedly defiled her , saw her . He was seated with his friends under a tree . He approached her and asked her what she was looking for . She told him she was looking for the vehicle she boarded from Asaba to Onitsha . She said she hoped to also find the driver and ask him if he saw any money in his bus . He then asked her what she wanted him to do for her because he didn ’ t have money to give her . She then said she wanted to return to Asaba . He offered to show her the way back home . Thinking he was genuinely helping her , she sat on his bike . But rather than take her home as promised , he allegedly took her to his place and locked her up there .

What did the policeman do to her while she was in his custody?

Maryam said he r * ped her . He allegedly threatened and told her that if she didn ’ t cooperate with him , he would harm her . At that point , she became terrified . That was how he r * ped her . He r * ped her twice and sometimes thrice a day for six days. She bled the first time he r * ped her .

Did he feed her throughout the six days she was allegedly in his custody?

Yes , she said he used to give her food . She said there were times she would cry , pleading with him to let her go but her pleas were not answered .

How did she escape from her captor ?

One night , while he was asleep , Maryam got his phone and dialled her cousin ’ s number. Luckily , she knew the number offhand . She told him all that happened to her . He then gave the police officer ’ s number to his father . Through True Caller, they were able to get his identity . They planned with their aunt to call the policeman . The aunt then called the officer on the phone , sounding like she is a single lady. She planned to come to Onitsha the next day to meet him . She said she used to come to Onitsha market frequently to buy things .

The following day , the aunt arrived in Onitsha and called him on the phone . They agreed to meet at a particular place . As the police officer arrived , my relatives met him and confronted him about Maryam . He denied abducting her , claiming he never met her . My relatives then told him that they were going to report the matter to the Area Commander in Onitsha . On their way to the commander ’ s place, they got a call from the Hausa community in Asaba . They said Maryam just arrived at their office .

What happened afterwards ?

My relatives rushed down to Asaba and saw Maryam there . Maryam said the policeman took her to the leader of the Hausa community .

How did she look when you saw her?

My daughter was looking so poor – in a terrible state . The policeman treated her badly; he destroyed my daughter’ s life .

How has her attitude been since the incident ?

My daughter has changed , whenever I think about the day I sent her to Onitsha , I curse the day . I know my daughter’ s life will never be the same . I would be lying to myself if I say she is doing fine.

All she does lately is to sleep and I don ’ t blame her . My daughter was a loving child ; she had good friends . She loved to relate with people , but now things are no longer the same . She prefers to be all by herself. She stays indoors and refuses to go out . What did I do to deserve this ? What did my daughter also do to deserve this? A lot has been taken from her .

Was she given drugs at the hospital you took her to?

Yes , she was ; it is the drugs she is taking that are partly making her to sleep a lot . Now she could sleep for hours at a stretch and whenever she wakes up , she sits on her bed and stares into space . Her mind always seems occupied . I feel sad about what happened to my daughter . In fact , the word sad doesn ’ t describe how I feel at the moment . Every day , I regret the day I sent her to Onitsha . I wish I didn ’ t do that. I really wish my daughter was not defiled . I have to live with that all my life . That is one thought I know would haunt me all my life . All I cry out for is justice. I want my daughter to get justice; I won ’ t rest until she gets justice . All that happened to her is painful – painful for any mother to bear .

Did you take her for tests to confirm your fears ?

Yes , we did all that. HIV test was conducted on her . The hospital said we would know if she is HIV positive after three months. But based on her state of health and other findings , she is not HIV positive .

She is pregnant ?

No , she is not pregnant .

What efforts did you make in finding your daughter while she was abducted ?

For a whole day , I couldn ’ t sleep or eat . I and my friends travelled to Onitsha and moved round communities in search of her . I really tried my best to find her . I was not myself ; I don ’ t wish any mother lose her daughter.

What do you want the authorities to do to the policeman who allegedly raped your daughter ?

I want him to be dealt with according to the law . I want justice for my daughter. The matter must not be covered up . She deserves justice . I want the Federal Government to intervene . I believe Maryam ’ s life is now in danger .

Do you feel guilty about what happened to your daughter ?

Yes , I do feel guilty; I am sad.

Did you tell Maryam ’ s siblings what happened to their sister ?

They are still young ; they won ’ t be able to comprehend what happened to her .

Has she been threatened by the police officer ?

No , he didn ’ t threaten her because he has been detained. He is in police custody . We are awaiting the outcome of the hearing.

The Police have assured that the outcome of Garba’ s trial will be made public.