The Kaduna State Schools Quality Assurance Authority (KSSQA) has shut down two Islamiyah schools over the alleged sexual abuse of minors.
According to a Vanguard report, one of the schools, Madrasatul Ulumul Deeniya wa Tahfizul Qur’an, located in Rigasa, was closed over the alleged rape of a six-year-old girl in the school premises.
Explaining the reason for the closure of the schools, the overseer of the KSSQA, Idris Aliyu, said the six-year-old girl was violated within the school premises and the school authority covered it up and claimed ignorance of the incident.
The other Islamiyah school, located at Tsohon Masallacin Juma’a in Kachia, Kachia Local Government Area of Kaduna State was shut after a 50-year-old teacher at the school allegedly impregnated a 12-year-old student.
Speaking further on the case of the 6-year-old, Aliyu said information before the Ministry of Education showed that the survivor’s grandmother went to the school authority and lodged a complaint but was allegedly beaten by the students and teachers of the Islamiyah.
He said that Governor Nasir El-Rufai has ordered that the Islamiyah be shut down indefinitely until an investigation was concluded and the culprit apprehended.
“The headmaster of the school would be held responsible for the act until all persons in the school were profiled and the perpetrator identified by the survivor and prosecuted.
“The individuals responsible for the violence against the grandmother, especially the headmaster, will also be prosecuted.
“This is in line with the state government’s responsibility in protecting the vulnerable population in the state,” he said.
The headteacher of the school, Malam Kabir Abdullahi, denied the allegation, saying “it is not a rape. What we gathered is that an unidentified boy injured the girl in her private parts with a stick,” he said.
Abdullahi said that the case was already being investigated by the Divisional Police Officer (DPO), Rigasa, Abubakar Bauranya.
Meanwhile, the DPO confirmed receiving the case and equally aligned with the narrative of the headteacher of the Islamiyah school.
But the grandmother of the survivor, Hajiya Batul Gambo insisted that her grandchild was violated and had been confirmed by Sexual Assault Referral Centre, Yusuf Dantsoho Memorial Hospital Tudun Wada, Kaduna.
A medical report signed by Dr A Raji confirmed Gambo’s claim that the six-year-old was raped.
Raji’s report attributed the bleeding to “virginal bruising of the labia minora, bilaterally per urethral bruising, heamatoma of the clitoris and laceration of the hymen.”
Commenting on the rape and impregnation of the 12-year-old girl in Kachia, Aliyu said that the survivor was already six months pregnant.
He said that the school was equally closed as directed by El-Rufai, stressing that the safety of the pupils cannot be guaranteed.
He explained that the Commissioner of Human Services and Social Development, Hajiya Hafsat Baba and the Commissioner for Education, Hajiya Halima Lawal would work closely with the police to investigate and ensure justice is done.
“Meanwhile, the two schools will remain closed until investigations are concluded and the culprit prosecuted in accordance with the law,” he said.