Residents of Bula area of Jushi,
Zaria, are yet to recover from
shock, after the brutal removal of a
young boy’s eyes in the
neighbourhood. When Malama Hadiza Usman said
goodbye to her three-year-old
grandchild, Abubakar Usman, on
his way to evening Islamiyya
class, it never occurred to her that
danger lurked nearby. An hour later, she received shocking news. In tears, Malama Hadiza told Daily Trust that she would never forget the incident for the rest of her life. “I’d given him N5 to buy sweets on
his way, on Sunday, January 24.
He left the house
with his brother Umar, but on their
way they were intercepted by yet-
to-be identified men who took him to an uncompleted building and
gouged his eyes out.” According to Malama Hadiza,
when the news of broke, she
rushed to the scene, where her
grandson lay, writhing bloodied.
She said there were syringes and
needles, as well as some substances believed to have been
used by the suspected ritualists in
removing the eyes of young
Abubakar. Malama Hadiza’s screams drew a
crowd to the scene, and the ward
head of the area was invited. He,
in return, informed the police and
the district head. Usman was
rushed to St. Luke’s Hospital in Wusasa, Zaria, as nurses are
presently on strike at the Ahmadu
Bello University Teaching Hospital
(ABUTH). The Chief Medical Director (CMD)
of the hospital, Dr. Gilbert, said on
receiving the victim, they mobilised
to give the boy the necessary
assistance he required. However,
the father of the boy, Usman Isa, said on the intervention of the emir
of Zazzau, Alhaji Shehu Idris, the
boy was taken to a private eye
hospital in Kaduna. He said: “The Kaduna hospital has referred
us back to ABUTH. Doctors have
conducted surgery yesterday.
From what they told us, the
perpetrators have removed
everything that has to do with the eyes, which would make fixing
them difficult. However, doctors
said that they would review the
operation to see the outcome,
hoping they can fix artificial ones.” Isa, in tears, told Daily Trust that
the doctors said the artificial eyes
would be fixed just to fill the holes,
but not for the young boy to see. “Except if Allah performs a
miracle,” he sobbed. Another account of the incident
revealed that the suspected
ritualist approached little Abubakar
pretending he was an uncle. “The other children with the victim
confirmed to us that the young
man said he was a brother to
Abubakar’s mother and would
soon bring him back,” a resident
said. At the hospital, little Abubakar was
telling those around him to open his
eyes to enable him see his mother
and grandmother. “Open my eyes, I want to see
Mama. Mama, where are you?
Where’s Grandma?” he kept
wailing. Abubakar’s mother, said to be in
her parents’ home, is so shocked
that she hasn’t been able to set her
eyes on her son. Police Area Commander in charge
of Zaria, Muhammad D. Shehu,
said they are trailing the
perpetrators. Residents of Bula area have
demolished the uncompleted
building where the crime was
committed, vowing to monitor
movement around such places.
