The Minister of Education, Mallam Adamu Adamu, has promised to ensure that justice was served in the case of a student of the FCT School for the Deaf, Imran Kunan, who was allegedly sodomised.
Adamu stated this on Tuesday in Abuja, during the ministry’s 11th Ministerial briefing.
He said a petition was received from one Dr Hannatu Ayuba, alleging among other things, sodomisation of her child Imran, at the school, owned and managed by the FCT administration.
The minister said following the petition, the ministry set up a committee, chaired by Dr Jake Epelle, which looked into the allegation.
He further explained that a joint committee of the ministries of education and FCT was also set up, with assistance from security agencies, to ascertain the veracity of the petitioner’s claims.
He said the police report to the committee stated that they were able to obtain a confession from the alleged abuser Sani Filo, a senior student who happened to be Kunan’s school father.
According to the minister, investigations are ongoing and as it stands, the report is inconclusive.
He, however, promised that the victim would be adequately catered for and justice served in the matter.
On the reports of cannibalism, sucking of human blood and existence of a cult in the school, the minister said the allegations were “’unfounded and baseless.”
“On sexual abuse, cannibalism, sucking of human blood and existence of a cult, the police and security report did not lend credence to all these allegations of untoward things taking place in the school or in Kuje Area.
“No parent reported any missing child or of children dying in the school, at least for the past five years.
“A medical team comprising of 12 doctors from both public and private sectors, carried out a random medical examination on 170 out of 630 children of the school and did not find any evidence to support this claim.
“’There was also no evidence of blood extraction found. These allegations are therefore, unfounded and baseless,” the minister said.
Adamu also shed light on allegations of poor feeding and children eating faeces.
He said that the committee, while carrying out its investigation, also found out that the children were reasonably fed and that there was no evidence of malnutrition.
“’The committee sent several invitations both orally and in writing to the petitioner to appear before it and to bring her son.
“But all efforts proved fruitless,’’ he said.
Adamu, however, still urged the petitioner to come forward and help in the investigation to enable the ministry get to the root of the issue.
In his response, Epelle also said in spite of the committee’s several invitations to the petitioner, she was yet to honour its call.
Meanwhile, the victim’s mother, Ayuba, who spoke in a telephone interview with newsmen, said the family was currently focused on rehabilitating their son.
She said the more people kept asking the boy questions, the more he kept recalling the traumatic experience.
“They sent me a letter of invitation for dialogue; I ignored it because I believe they should collaborate with the police, who are also investigating the matter.
“’The medical report ascertained that he was abused sexually. The FCT Police Command has its report on the boy, my son has been cheated, and he is suffering from a traumatic health disorder.
“In the interest of the boy; and in as much as investigations are ongoing, the harm has been done to him; but we have to start picking up the pieces of what is left of this experience.
“We have to be calm and focus on rehabilitating him,’’ Ayuba said.
When contacted by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on the matter, the FCT Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Anjuguri Manzah, said the command was aware of the case.
Manzah, however, said investigation was ongoing.
