… As A Teacher, I Withdrawal My Children From Government Schools To Go For Islamic Education – Parent
Niger state government has on Wednesday received twenty one under age children who were trafficked from Magama local government area en route Yobe State to neighbouring countries.
The children with an average age of nine have the youngest at 6 years and the eldest 17.
Addressing newsmen when he received the children on behalf of the state government at his Office premises in Minna, the State Deputy Governor, Comrade Yakubu Garba confirmed that the minors were intercepted in Gaidam, Yobe state enroute Cameroon, Mali and Niger Republic.
However, some of the parents disagreed with the Government, saying, the children were duly handed over to the Malam who had their (parents) consent.
While stressing that it is a crime that violates section 34 sub section 1 and section 13 of the Nigerian constitution, Comrade Yakubu said government frowns against all forms of trafficking, violence, oppression, injustice and other forms of inhuman treatment.
According to him “the constitution forbids all forms of trafficking in person in the country and we appreciate the federal government, security agencies, the Media, human trafficking agency for the rescue of the children.
However, one of the parents, Mallam Jamilu Usman who identified his two children, 13 years old Umar Jamilu and 9 years Mauruf Jamilu noted that the suspected trafficker, Malam Abubakar is a well known person to them who studied in Niger Republic.
The parent who is also a Head Teacher of a Government Primary school in Magama LGA, told newsmen that “I am aware that my children were going to Niger Republic, we gave our consent to Malam Abubakar to take our children so that they can acquire Islamic education.
“I am the headmaster of Tungan Gari primary school in Magama local government with four wives and 30 children and I will retire from service in the next 5 years.
“For each month we pay the sum of N35,000 per child and the government did not even consult us but they just took our children. Mallam Abubakar is not a trafficker, we know him even when he studied in Sudan. I heard that our children were carried by the government and that is how I travelled down to Minna.”
While responding to fielded questions why he chosed to send his underaged children abroad when there are Islamic schools in Magama, he said, “this is a religious issue”.
“Even as a Teacher, I removed them from government primary school to go for Qur’anic education in Niger Republic. Umar was in Primary 6 and Mauruf in Primary 5. Also, I removed them because there were problems and they were not going to school regularly”.
